Space · Monkey · Miso
by Lily Sang
Summary: Let's creep off the beaten path of Dragon Ball to see Vegeta's childhood in its entirety. What is a life of working in the Freeza Force really like? Includes power struggles, planet-hopping, war, adventure, and Great Apes that run rampant. Now ramen-flavored!
1. The Curtains Part

_**DISCLAIMER: This story follows the manga canon and is set far in the past. Some references to interstellar culture have been given the Earth equivalent to avoid confusion.**_

 _ **~Lily S.**_

 _Prologue_

In a small space station orbiting a crowded planet, Lord Freeza stood alone. He contemplated the wash of data on a screen before him.

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **Planet Punkpon**

 **Size: M**

 **Dominant species: the Punkponians**

 **Temperature constant at a humid 80°F**

 **Resources: Habitable with clean water**

 **Class: A**

 **Status: Processing underway. Estimated Time of Completion (ETC): 1 month.**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **Planet Sazek**

 **Size: L**

 **Dominant species: hake**

 **Temperature constant at 44°F**

 **Resources: saltwater and ash**

 **Class: B**

 **Status: Of interest. Postponed until long-distance travel is possible. ETC: Unknown.**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **Planet Vegeta**

 **Size: S**

 **Dominant species: the Saiyans**

 **Temperature varies between extremes, but habitable.**

 **Resources: the Saiyans**

 **Class: A+**

 **Status...**

"Lord Freeza?" inquired a soldier from the entrance.

Freeza turned. "Yes?"

"Prince Vegeta is out of range now."

Freeza's smile widened. "Is that so? Excellent." The young prince was embarking on his first extermination campaign, leaving his home planet for the very first time. The day had arrived. "Are any other Saiyans away from Planet Vegeta?"

"Yes, sir," the soldier said. "There's Nappa, the royal guard accompanying Vegeta, and Soldier Raditz on a separate planet."

"Who?" Freeza asked. "Never mind, it doesn't matter." He turned back to the window. "Two spares... good enough. Give the command. I'll be out in a minute."

As the door closed behind the soldier, Freeza gazed down at the planet turning below. "Planet Vegeta. I never did like the color..." He paid no mind to the information continuing its crawl down the screen.

 **Planet Vegeta**

 **Size: S**

 **Dominant species: the Saiyans**

 **Temperature varies between extremes, but habitable.**

 **Resources: none**

 **Class: B-**

 **Status: Risk of future threat. Recommend immediate termination.**

 **ETC: 15 minutes.**

Chapter 1

"Any first impressions?"

"Wait."

It was colder than Vegeta expected. Even though the planet was close to a star, its thick atmosphere let little heat in, and most of that was blocked by the ten yards of canopy that encircled the surface like a living shell. Vegeta could barely see... the only light came from the hole their spaceship had punched through the trees. He surveyed the empty forest landscape, then looked to his escort, Nappa.

"What's the point?" Vegeta said, finally.

"Tell me that again."

"Who would want a dumb stack of trees?"

Nappa laughed. "You're not thinking like a client." He leaned against a tree trunk and gestured to the landscape. "Look again. What does this planet have that might be of value?"

Vegeta closed his eyes and remembered his lessons: Precious, Pretty, and Particular. The three P's that every client looked for. This planet held nothing of value and it wasn't unique. It had more trees than Vegeta had ever seen, but they were _trees._ So what could it be?

When he opened his eyes, the forest was glowing with shimmering turquoise light that emanated from every tree trunk. Vegeta, four years old, was mesmerized by the colors.

"Those gaps in the canopy we saw earlier, remember the pools of water on the ground underneath?" Nappa said, coming up beside him. "The sun shines on them during the day and they stay warm all night, perfect for swimming." Vegeta nodded slowly, eyes glassy. "Clear cut to make room for a few hotels and you've got yourself a retreat planet... perfect for 'getting away from it all,'" Nappa recited, yawning. "Luckily, that's not our job."

A flash of movement caught Vegeta's attention and he looked up. Out of the darkness soared an arrow, aimed straight at his skull. He jerked out of the way instinctively and just in time. Even so, the arrow grazed his cheek and left him with a long, thin cut.

Vegeta and Nappa squinted in the dim light, searching for hidden locals, when the noise started. A low rumble that you could feel just as much as hear, it stopped the two Saiyans in their tracks and got them looking up at the sky. It was a sound they knew well; the sound of a spaceship landing. A big one.

The canopy above them started to cave in under some great weight and seconds later it broke through: the spaceship. But it wasn't just any spaceship, it was the newest model. Which meant it had come straight from Lord Freeza. Thin shrieks came from off in the distance as the skulking enemies fled from the mysterious ship. They sounded more like animal cries than any sentient being.

The carrier ship touched down in front of Vegeta and Nappa. Soldiers filed out the back and lifted the Saiyans' two-seat ship into the bigger model. A ramp slid out onto the ground and the doors opened, dramatically back-lighting the figure inside.

It was an eggshell blue man, well-muscled and with impeccably clean armor. Despite his physique, he had fine, almond-shaped eyes and his long green hair was in a thick braid. He descended the ramp regally, all good posture and measured steps, until he and Nappa were the same height. Vegeta stared up at him, unimpressed.

"Hey!" Nappa snarled at Vegeta as loudly as he dared. "Bow your head! Don't you know who he is?"

"Zarbon?" Vegeta didn't look away from the alien. He had heard the name a few times in the palace back home. "You Lord Freeza's bodyguard? But why does he need a bodyguard?"

"You— _stop!_ " Nappa spluttered before Zarbon put a hand on his shoulder, silencing him.

"I'm the second in command of the Freeza Force."

"Oh." Vegeta crossed his arms. "Does that mean you can cut in on our mission?"

Zarbon fixed the small Saiyan with an unreadable look, then gave a light laugh. "Of course it does. However, this isn't a personal call. I'm on orders from Lord Freeza. The two of you are being summoned for an audience with him."

Zarbon made room for Vegeta and Nappa to step aboard. Vegeta had a moment of regret as he thought about the unfinished job, his first mission, but the lure of _finally_ meeting Lord Freeza won him over.

Zarbon leaned down until he was eye-to-eye with Vegeta. He rubbed his thumb across the cut on Vegeta's cheek. "Have you ever been wounded before?"

Vegeta copied Zarbon's earlier look, then slowly shook his head. "I haven't been in a real fight yet."

Zarbon examined the blood on his finger with interest. "I thought the Saiyans send their young into battle as soon as they can walk."

"Not the royal family." Vegeta sat down and stared out the window as they took off. "We have to learn techniques and stuff that's been passed down for generations instead."

"Hmm." Zarbon leaned against the wall opposite Vegeta and studied the prince with the same focus as he had studied the prince's blood. He was curious as to how the Saiyans would take the news, but more than anything he wanted to know Lord Freeza's plan for Vegeta. The little guy couldn't be just any punk, not if their master himself had requested an audience with him.

As the spaceship took off, Zarbon wondered what was special about Vegeta, Nappa wondered when he would stop babysitting and get promoted to the front lines again, and Vegeta wondered how to tell his father, the king, that he was going to fight instead of rule Planet Vegeta.

None of them knew it, but all of their thoughts would soon be answered.

Waiting outside the door to Lord Freeza's rooms, Vegeta and Nappa found an unexpected face. A young boy, maybe a little older than Vegeta, with tail untucked and a thick mane of spiky black hair that dragged on the floor.

"You're a Saiyan," Vegeta said with mild interest.

"Did Lord Freeza ask for you guys too?!" the boy exploded. "I can't wait to find out what this is all about! Oh man! What if we were chosen for a top-secret Saiyan task force?! Working directly under Lord Freeza himself!" the Saiyan turned away, lost in his own little oddball fantasy.

Vegeta and Nappa looked at each other. "Who is he?" Vegeta muttered, watching the kid out of the corner of his eye. "He thinks we're his equal."

"He's young. Probably spent a lot of time away from Planet Vegeta on missions. He can't be very high up... I don't think he knows who we are," Nappa said with a mixture of amusement and scorn. "Still, I can't see how he was lumped in with _us._ I don't have a good feeling about whatever Lord Freeza has planned."

The door slid open to reveal Zarbon. "Lord Freeza will receive you now," he said, and ushered them inside.

The large room was completely dark, except for the glass wall on the far side. Light from a nearby star illuminated the asteroids drifting lazily outside. A short figure stood silhouetted in front of the window. Vegeta approached it with Nappa and the boy trailing hesitantly behind. Just as the dim light caught the figure, it turned to face Vegeta.

Vegeta and Freeza came face-to-face for the first time. The seconds ticked by until they turned to minutes, and still neither moved.

When Vegeta looked up at Freeza, he was the most powerful being the Saiyan prince had ever seen. It was obvious in just the way he blended into the room; he was so still that Vegeta's eyes kept sliding off him in the dim light. But when Vegeta looked in Freeza's eyes, he also saw flames. He finally understood how this man could be the ruler of so many places and people, even the Saiyans. And with that, he sank to his knees. He finally knew this guy was worthy to be his rival.

When Freeza looked down at Vegeta, he saw a child. Nothing else. But this child stared back at Freeza with a face that was impressively neutral—no clear emotion, yet not flat or disengaged. Something shifted and suddenly the boy's eyes caught fire. He had sensed Freeza's power—or at least as much of it as he could comprehend at his age—but instead of fear or awe, he simply bowed. That was a boy who knew his place.

"Thank you for joining me." Freeza was the one to break the silence. "Vegeta." Freeza turned and the lights came on. "Nappa. Raditz." The other two Saiyans started at their names and came forward, also bowing. "Thank you for allowing yourselves to be pulled away from your missions. I know how much field work means to the Saiyans. But I also know how important it is to be direct with races like yours, so I thought it best to bring you all here straight away. What with recent events and all."

Vegeta crossed his arms. "You say you're being direct, but 'recent events' doesn't sound very direct to me." Everyone gasped audibly.

Freeza's eyes narrowed in thought. "If you would all turn to the window."

"What's so special about a bunch of rocks?" Raditz piped up, made brave by Vegeta's example. One look from Freeza, though, was enough to make the older Saiyan regret speaking.

"Those are the remains of Planet Vegeta. It was destroyed by an asteroid, along with all your fellow Saiyans. You three are all that remains of your race."

Shocked. Uncomprehending. Nappa and Raditz and Vegeta.

"Now, as all of you should be aware," Freeza continued in the silence, "the entire Saiyan race was in my employ. Since the Saiyan monarchy no longer exists, you three will be incorporated into the standard force. Mr. Nappa, your rank will be switched from royal guard to soldier. Vegeta, you will be removed from your traditional royal training and also become a soldier. Raditz, you will be unaffected."

These new developments quickly took center stage over the tragedy of Planet Vegeta. Of course, it was easy to distract a Saiyan with the promise of more chances to fight. Nappa was grinning ear-to-ear, Vegeta's heart was racing with the future, and Raditz was dazed after realizing that he was standing in the same room as the heir to the throne.

"You three may wait outside for Mr. Zarbon to show you to your quarters," Freeza said, dismissing them.

They stood in silence in the hallway for a while, each one lost in his own thoughts. Vegeta was the first to grow bored.

"Hey you... Raditz, isn't it?" he addressed the long-haired Saiyan.

"Y—yes, sir!" Raditz gulped, standing straighter.

"If your hair's so long, why don't you cut it?"

Raditz looked horrified. "You're joking! Our hair doesn't grow back, remember? If I cut it now, I'd never look like this again!"

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but it puts you at a disadvantage in fights. I could use it to lift you off the ground and it would cut your maneuverability in half."

Raditz noticed their foot-long height difference and giggled. "Um, I don't think _you_ could lift—"

Vegeta's fist shot out and punched Raditz ten feet down the hallway. "I'm four years old, what do you expect!" Vegeta yelled after him. "It won't matter how tall I am when I learn to fly!"

Nappa held Vegeta back. "Learn some control first," he snapped. "There's only three of us left. We can't reduce that number just because you lost your temper and killed him by accident."

"By 'accident'?" Vegeta muttered, seething. "I didn't even hit him that hard."

It was true. Raditz was already up, sniffling but unhurt. "What's your power level?" Vegeta demanded. "Tell me."

"O... okay," Raditz said, suddenly shy. "I got it checked a while ago but it's grown since then... around 230?"

Vegeta gaped at him. "And you... you're _how much_ older than me?"

"About a year." Raditz put a hand behind his head and grinned. "Pretty good, huh? I bet you guys are glad you have me, and not some loser."

Vegeta leaned against the wall and groaned. Nappa watched the two of them carefully. "Raditz... Vegeta's power level is over 700."

Now it was Raditz's turn to be shocked. "No _way!_ That's great! I bet there's so much I can learn from—"

"Why _him?!"_ Vegeta exploded, pointing angrily at Raditz. "Out of all the Saiyans, we have to end up with some third-rate weakling? What about Thuce? He was a _great_ fighter! Or Tatop! He's barely set foot on Planet Vegeta since he started missions, and this stupid rock picks the one day he's back visiting family to kill everyone!"

"Sorry about this," Nappa whispered as Raditz watched Vegeta's rant with fascination. "It's probably just the gr—"

"I don't even care that they're all dead! Less work for me! But why the _hell_ did I wind up with such a—"

"... Probably just the grief talking," Nappa finished. "He just lost an entire kingdom. Try not to get in his way if you can help it."

"Time to go," Zarbon said, appearing suddenly. "Everyone follow me and I'll take you to the ship. Your rooms are on Planet Freeza 61—luckily, it's not too far from here."

"Finally," Vegeta grumbled, falling into step with the others. Even though Raditz's power level was embarrassing, he had a feeling there was fun to be had in the older Saiyan's nature. He was too enthusiastic and trusting, for his own good at least.

Planet Freeza 61 was Lord Freeza's most recent acquisition. One short flight away, its surface was taken over by wild oceans and thick, sprawling jungles. A mile-long grey base was set up just north of the equator. Once Nappa and Raditz were deposited in their rooms, Vegeta and Zarbon were alone.

"How are you handling everything?" Zarbon asked as they walked. "It's a lot to take in, I know." Zarbon's own home planet was alive and well, but he had vowed long ago to never return.

"... I'm okay," Vegeta said quietly. He didn't understand why Zarbon was trying to connect with him and he didn't like it. Was he lying? He didn't feel sad... he didn't feel anything. He just wanted to start missions.

"Well, you'll be working in my division so we'll be seeing more of each other." Zarbon smiled ambiguously.

Vegeta tried not to stare. _What's wrong with him? Why does he keep trying to talk to me?_ "So, what?"

"Remember your rank. That's all I'm saying. A prince of three people doesn't add up to much, does it? You're just a soldier now."

Vegeta kept staring ahead as he walked. Zarbon's friendly tone of voice was changing into something he'd never heard before. "I know that."

"Oh?" Zarbon sounded surprised. "Well, let's hope you also know how to treat your superiors with the proper respect. Because from what I've seen, you don't."

Vegeta stopped and turned to Zarbon. "I'm sorry, _Lord_ Zarbon. I'll give you all the respect that's due." He stared at Zarbon, waiting for him to make the next move.

Zarbon gave that silly laugh again. _This child._ "I'm sure you will. One last thing before we keep going, _Soldier_ Vegeta."

"What?" Vegeta couldn't help showing how annoyed he was. Non-Saiyan company grated horribly on his nerves.

"How did Raditz get that bruise on his face?"

"..." Suddenly, Vegeta's attention was caught by the grid pattern on the walls.

"You attacked him, didn't you?"

Vegeta gritted his teeth. He didn't want to do this right now. "It doesn't matter."

"Wrong again, Vegeta. You three Saiyans are the last of your race... which makes you precious. You have to be taught not to damage Lord Freeza's property." Zarbon paused. "Go stand with your back to the wall."

After a moment, Vegeta obeyed. He was the sole heir to the throne back home, but here he wasn't even as strong as the average soldier. The throne was drifting through space in pieces.

Zarbon faced Vegeta, kept him in suspense for a moment, then there was a flash of movement as the back of Vegeta's skull slammed against the wall. He sank to the floor, too dizzy to keep standing. Zarbon's blow had struck his _forehead_ and the force of it knocked him backwards. Something clinked on the ground in front of him. Blindly, Vegeta picked it up and took a second to focus on it. It was a key.

"Good luck finding your room," Zarbon said, rounding a corner and disappearing. As he made his way to his own room, he recalled his conversation with Lord Freeza earlier that day...

 _"But why did you go out of your way to spare these particular Saiyans? What's special about them?"_

 _"Oh, I don't care about those other two. It's Vegeta I want."_

 _"May I ask why, sir?"_

 _"That boy's power level is already at 700_ _and all he's been doing is reading textbooks in a palace. I just have a feeling about him, that's all..."_

 _Hmph._ All Zarbon saw was a smart-mouthed monkey who didn't know his place. And as for that _700_... who cares! He wasn't the strongest four year old there had ever been. Still, if Lord Freeza thought he was worth something, Zarbon would have to keep an eye on him...

It took Vegeta hours after his head had cleared to find his room. As he lay in bed, burning, he thought about telling Lord Freeza what Zarbon had done. But he'd rather get hit again than run crying to his rival for help. He'd just have to raise his power level as fast as he could until he outranked everyone. Then he'd be able to do whatever he wanted.

In the meantime, it was time to take up his Saiyan birthright and _finally_ start doing missions.


	2. Battle Troubles, Fighting Struggles

Chapter 2

"... And I know it seems impossible, but by the end of this course every one of you maggots will be able to do a 30-second mile in your sleep."

Vegeta was standing at the back of the group of trainees with Nappa and Raditz, listening to the red-faced "instructor" yell at them. "This is the worst thing that's happened to me in my entire life," Vegeta whispered to Nappa.

"You're only four years old," Nappa said.

"Four and _a_ _half_." Vegeta scowled at him.

"WHO'S TALKING?!" The instructor muscled his way to the back, forehead veins a-bulge. His eyes landed on Nappa, who shook his head and pointed down. It took a second for him to see Vegeta, just two feet tall. The instructor froze. "Why... is there... a _child_ here?! This course is for soldiers in training, not Mommy and Me!"

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "You're so loud. Besides," he jabbed a finger at Raditz, " _he's_ five."

Raditz cowered under the instructor's gaze of death. "W—well," he stuttered, pointing at Nappa, " _He's_ been working for Lord Freeza for years!"

Nappa wasn't too intimidated by the instructor's attention, as they were the same size. "Look," he said, "Lord Zarbon told all three of us to report to you. If you have a problem, take it up with him."

The instructor's face blanched at Zarbon's name, then flushed at being talked back to. "Fine!" he spluttered. "I don't discriminate. But we're going to start in a moment, and if either of you _children_ fall behind, you're OUT!"

"Whatever," Vegeta sighed. Raditz gulped.

The group took off. Twenty laps around the gym's track equaled a mile (as the instructor had said a few dozen times) and once the time ran out plates in the floor heated up to 120° Fahrenheit until everybody was finished. Vegeta and Nappa jogged the first one and Raditz ran with everybody else. That's when they found out the pattern: run a half-minute mile, rest for thirty seconds. Vegeta was just about to complain when he remembered Zarbon the night before and deflated. He had to stay in line.

And he tried to, he really did. But being forced to rest just when he was getting warmed up was driving him insane. On the eighth rep, he raised his hand. Raditz, about to collapse from exhaustion, looked at Vegeta gratefully. _He's asking a question just to give me a break,_ Raditz thought. _What a great prince. Too bad Planet Vegeta was destroyed_ — _I'd vote for him!_

"Oh ho!" the instructor jeered. "Feeling a little tuckered out now, are we?"

"What? No." Vegeta hadn't even broken a sweat. "We should do it different."

The instructor's eyes narrowed. What a _brat._ "How so?"

"Let's not just stand around while we rest," Vegeta said. "Have half the group carry the other half on their backs, switching after every mile. It wastes less time."

"..." Was the kid serious? "But then we won't be able to run a half minute mile," the instructor said impatiently. He had "half minute miles" written in his schedule _in pen._

"Why not?" Vegeta asked, confused.

"Because that's putting too much weight on the runners, idiot!" the instructor yelled.

Vegeta looked at Nappa, who wasn't paying attention. Why was the instructor acting like the weight was a big deal? It would just be a bit more exercise, that was all.

The instructor took one look at Vegeta's condescending sneer and knew he wasn't taking it seriously. The boy thought he was on par with actual soldiers. He'd probably never lifted another person once in his short life. The instructor smiled slyly as he got an idea. "I changed my mind. We're going to try out this boy's plan." The entire room groaned in disbelief. "Hold on! The only one doing it is you," he pointed at Vegeta, "for fifty laps without rest, and carrying your friend."

"I'm sorry, Vegeta," Raditz said. "I'm pretty heavy. It'll probably be too much for you."

The instructor laughed. "Not you, _the big guy_. And if any of your miles take more than thirty seconds, I'll make sure Lord Freeza sends you straight back to your home planet!"

Vegeta held his arms out and glared at the instructor. "My home planet blew up yesterday." Nappa jumped on his back and they took off.

Everyone's jaws dropped as Vegeta and Nappa zoomed around the track. They were so shocked that nobody laughed at how ridiculous the two Saiyans looked—Nappa's huge body flying a foot off the ground, two small legs blurry with speed underneath him. The group stood and watched Vegeta and Nappa go around and around for minutes, until they finally skidded to a stop in front of the dumb-founded instructor.

"Well?" Vegeta panted, red-faced. "How long was that?"

"F—f—f—fifteen minutes," Raditz squeaked. Ten minutes faster than the instructor wanted.

The instructor was speechless. "... Any _real_ soldier could do that without even breaking a sweat," he got out at last.

"Of course they could," Vegeta said, wiping his forehead. "I _am_ only four."

After a few more hours that were equally insulting, the three Saiyans sat down to eat.

"What's wrong with you?" Nappa asked Vegeta, who was eating his lunch in stony silence. Ever since he'd locked horns with the instructor, Vegeta had a cloud over his head.

"I hate this place," he mumbled. "It's too noisy and all my clothes are too big for me and they just threw us in with the new recruits. Zarbon _knows_ we're too strong for that class—except Raditz."

"I know you're 700, Vegeta, but how strong is Nappa?" Raditz asked, looking between the two of them.

"Mmf—my power level's 5000," Nappa said through a mouthful of zota, a sweet carbonated drink exported from Planet Vegeta that he liked to have with every meal.

Raditz's eyes lit up. "Wow! What was Zarbon thinking when he put you with us? That's commander power."

"He must want an older Saiyan around to babysit you two," Nappa said.

"No, he wants to humiliate you by cutting your rank," Vegeta cut in. As if he needed _babysitting._

"Hmph. I don't care about my rank, I just want to be out on the front lines. If being a new recruit is the way to do it, that's okay by me."

"How _do_ they decide your rank here?" Vegeta asked. Back on Planet Vegeta, if you were strong you were automatically a first-class citizen. Except for the royal family, who were at the top regardless of power. That explained why Vegeta's father, King Vegeta, had ruled the planet with a power level of 500.

"Hmm... let's see..." Nappa flipped through the handbook they had all been given that morning. "'There are no concrete rules for promotion,'" he read. "'If an officer exceeds expectations, their unit supervisor may choose to review their file.'"

"Great. Looks like I'm not going anywhere," said Vegeta. "Zarbon _hates_ me. He'd never recommend me." He noticed Raditz. "What?"

The older Saiyan was staring off into space. "I asked Zarbon this morning before breakfast... we aren't allowed to leave this base until we finish training. I miss the planet I was working on..."

Vegeta frowned. He hadn't even started. Hadn't been in a real fight yet. He _wished_ he had battle withdrawal like Raditz. "Nappa, Raditz wants you to look up when we can do missions." As Nappa scanned the book's index, Vegeta got up to put their trays away. The food had been bland and uninspired, just like their training. The interplanetary extermination missions were clearly the shining gem of working under Freeza. Everything else was just dull shades of grey—and that worked for the paint job of the buildings as well.

When he got back to the table, something had happened. Nappa and Raditz were staring at the book, eyes wide, completely frozen. "What? What is it?" Vegeta demanded. Wordlessly, Nappa pointed at a line of text. Vegeta leaned over to read it.

 _ **New recruits may start extermination campaigns after a year of basic training.**_

Now it was Vegeta's turn to go still and stare at the book. At the same time, all three Saiyans closed their eyes and put their heads down.

"This isn't actually happening," Vegeta's voice was muffled by the table. "It's just a stupid initiation prank."

"I guess it makes sense," Raditz said faintly. "They wouldn't want anyone inexperienced accidentally damaging the planet's value."

"But a YEAR?!" Vegeta yelled, sitting up. "Were you THERE this morning? That's a year with no fighting, just running around in circles! That's not _experience._ That's _HELL_." Vegeta ignored the stares he was getting and stood up, his chair clattering to the ground. "I'm going to talk to Zarbon." He stormed off. Any lesson from the night before no longer held water.

"You!" he snapped at a passing soldier. "Where's Zarbon?"

The soldier did a double take, caught off-guard by the four year old's anger. "Uh, he's probably having lunch in his study."

" _Where?_ "

"Next level up, room 4b10. Hey kid, do your parents know where you are?"

But Vegeta was already gone.

Zarbon sat at his desk, sipping an alcoholic beverage imported from Whon. A door slammed in the distance. Zarbon waited for the approaching footsteps to turn a corner. They didn't. "Come in, Vegeta," he called. "The door's open."

Vegeta stood in the doorway, his dark expression clashing hilariously with the fact that his head didn't reach the doorknob.

"What can I do for you today?" Zarbon said, setting his glass down.

"Zarbon! Year of basic... added because...! If you added it because of us, I'll... I'll..." Vegeta didn't have the words to express the fury that was burning inside him.

"You'll what?" Zarbon was amused. "Whatever it is, I'll tell you now not to say it to a superior officer. But don't worry. That policy has been here longer than me. It's not _all_ about you, you know."

"Well, make me the exception. Let me go on missions now."

"Did you hear what I just said? It's too much paperwork. Why would we bother?"

"..." It was obvious that it didn't matter at all to Zarbon that Vegeta was a Saiyan who hadn't been in a fight yet. He'd have to suck it up and say it in terms Zarbon could understand. "Sitting and doing nothing for a year is a waste. Why not use my talents sooner than later?"

"So you're telling me the training isn't advanced enough for you," Zarbon said. Vegeta nodded quickly. "But what about the knowledge? We can't just blindly send you off, hoping that you know what you're doing."

"I was studying back on Planet Vegeta," Vegeta said.

"Knowing the basics isn't enough." Zarbon got up and held open the door for Vegeta. "Besides, Lord Freeza wouldn't stand for the rules being broken."

Vegeta planted his feet on the ground. "I'm not going until you let me do missions."

The two stared at each other for a moment, the argument continued in their gaze. But Vegeta's eyes had the passion of a Saiyan child, and soon Zarbon rubbed his temples in defeat.

"... If you really can't stand basic training, I guess we could try something else."

"Yes! Anything is better than that class," Vegeta said.

"What about a private tutor? Lord Freeza has a few drifting around... you could take it at your own speed."

Vegeta nodded again, almost bouncing on the balls of his feet.

" _But_. No missions for a year, still, and when you're done you'd better be _good_. I'm expecting you to be on a different level from the new soldiers after they've done basic training."

"No problem." Vegeta thought. "Um... can Nappa come too? He's strong... but he still has a lot to learn." Even though he didn't _really_ like Nappa, he couldn't condemn someone that strong to a class that simple. Especially a fellow Saiyan.

"Sure, whatever," Zarbon said, shrugging. He hadn't expected Vegeta to want a companion, but it wasn't a big deal. "He'll have to start tomorrow, though. I haven't made arrangements for him."

"When can I start?" Vegeta said eagerly.

"Hmm..." Zarbon looked at the clock. "It's almost time. You can go right now."

After getting directions, Vegeta ran off without so much as a "thank you". Zarbon had known the Saiyan didn't fit in basic training and would probably ask to leave, but he didn't realize how intense Vegeta would be. This was the first time Zarbon had worked with Saiyans, and he was struck by their connection to battle. He was starting to see why the Master had taken an interest in Vegeta. Apparently, the Saiyan prince was the strongest child of his age that Planet Vegeta had ever seen. It would be interesting just to see what would become of him.

But that was the last time Zarbon would make it easy on him.

"So... you're my new student, are you?"

The room had white walls, a tatami mat floor, and a wall of dusty shelves. The man stood in the center of the room and examined Vegeta. "Hmm... hmmm... short... _very short_... black hair... skin lightly tanned... _tail_..." He drew back. "You're Saiyan, aren't you?"

Vegeta nodded. "What are you?"

"Oh, this and that," the man said. He had chalk-white skin and round negative eyes, with black whites and white pupils. Chunky black hair swooped down to just above his eyes and he wore a simple frog-buttoned martial artist's _gi._

Vegeta looked at the man suspiciously. Was he a fighter? Because he sure didn't look it. He seemed more like a scientist... or maybe a librarian.

"Your clothes are too big for you," the man _tsked,_ seeing Vegeta's baggy training suit. "That's never a good sign. Of course, who could have predicted that you'd be so young?"

 _Uh...?_ "Just because I'm a kid doesn't mean I'm not strong," Vegeta said.

"Maybe so, but experience is at least as important."

"Nnnh." Vegeta couldn't deal with these confusing remarks. Even worse, he had no idea of the man's skill, status, or even age. "What do I call you?"

"Just Ren is fine. Don't bother with 'Lord', or 'Master'," the man said, as if Vegeta was going to in the first place. "I like to earn my position with each new pupil I take on."

"Are you usually a teacher?"

"Of course," said Ren. "I train any soldiers that Lord Freeza thinks are not suited to the standard course."

Vegeta was beginning to think that when it came to running the place, _Freeza_ was code for _Zarbon_. "What's your power level?"

"... I don't usually like to talk of such things," Ren said slowly, "but just this once I'll tell you. 10,000."

That was all Vegeta needed.

"Anyway," Ren said, clapping his hands together. "It's time for lesson one: sensing presences. Come to the center of the room." Ren walked to the door and opened it. Then he went to a nearby shelf and got out an incense candle. "A good warrior knows the most important thing is to never let down his guard. All the strength in the world won't help you if you aren't expecting the attack. Countless men have died because they didn't see the enemy coming, and in a lot of those cases the enemy was out of sight. So the first step to getting this skill is developing your ability to sense when someone is in the room without using your eyes."

Ren pulled out a strip of black cloth and set the candle at Vegeta's feet. "In a minute I'll blindfold you. Your task is simple. Just guess where I am in the room. We'll continue until you're ready to move on."

"But why the incense?" Vegeta asked.

Ren chuckled. "Trying to cheat already? It's so you can't _smell_ where I am, of course. I've met a few Saiyans in my day, I know how keen your noses are."

"That doesn't make sense. In a real fight, I'd be able to use my nose."

"Good thinking, but what if it was raining? What if you were distracted and didn't notice a change in scent? Smell is the most subtle of the five senses, you know. Besides, I'm not letting you use _any_ of your main senses. I'm going to be floating off the ground so you can't hear my footsteps."

"Then how am I supposed to know where you are?" Vegeta demanded. "I'm not some magician who can feel _chi_."

"I know. Let's just try it for a while and then I'll tell you the secret. I want to see how far you can get on your own."

Vegeta was willing to play along. He hadn't done anything like this in his training back home. In fact this was the first lesson he'd ever taken that wasn't out of a book. Would he be able to do it?

Ren tied the cloth around Vegeta's eyes. "I'll be fair and not move too fast." He lit the candle.

Vegeta's nose twitched. "What? That's..." he trailed off. He'd recognize that smell anywhere. It was fresh Oking leaves, from the Oking tree. It was a tree native to Planet Vegeta.

"Like it?" Ren's voice came from Vegeta's left. He'd moved already. "Oking incense is one of your planet's only exports, did you know that? I expect the price will go up very soon... but for now, we can burn them freely."

"Why Oking?" Vegeta asked. The thick, bittersweet smell reminded him of the log-on-fire he would spend evenings studying near as the sky grew dark and the seasons got sub-zero. He yawned.

"You just answered your own question. It's relaxing you... a familiar reminder of home after all this chaos. It's important to be able to stay alert, even in downtime or in a safe place. But enough talk! Now it's time to train!"

Vegeta shook his head to wake himself up. Ren's silence instantly gave the room a suffocating feeling. The back of Vegeta's neck prickled as if he was being watched. Well... he _was_ being watched. But where from? He couldn't feel a thing. He tried to visualize the friendly Ren as an enemy. Maybe he'd have better luck if he felt like he was in danger.

Completely still, Vegeta's breathing slowed as he focused in on the blackness. Something caught his attention behind his back. He thought back to when his eyes had been open. That was where the shelves were. And the door was about eight paces in front of him. But there was something else even closer... was it Ren? Vegeta slowly turned in a circle a few times to lose his bearings. Then he refocused. In a few seconds he felt it again. It had to be Ren. "You're in front of me," Vegeta said, pointing.

"Correct!" Ren sounded pleased. "Looks like you're a bit of a natural, so let's make this a little harder." There was the scratch of a match being lit and a second candle flared up. Another Oking one. The strength of the two made Vegeta cough.

"Go again," came Ren's voice. Vegeta couldn't tell where he was speaking from. Eyes watering, he pinched his nose and tried to ignore the fumes. He had to focus a little harder, but soon he sensed that weird presence again. He wasn't used to finding things by... whatever he was doing. "To my left," Vegeta said.

He was right. On this third hunt for Ren, he waited for at least ten seconds but he didn't pick anything up. He didn't like relying on this sixth sense. It was too inconsistent. Unless...

"Are you still in the room?" Vegeta asked. Silence. He laughed aloud. This was so cool! It was like he was psychic! Grinning, Vegeta focused again. He _felt_ the moment Ren entered the room. This time, he didn't say anything, he just turned to face Ren as he moved around.

With the crackle of a vinyl record starting up, muffled music drifted into the room. Vegeta's smile faded. He'd lost track of Ren and couldn't find him. Was he gone again? He tried to concentrate, but the strong smell of the candles and the music were overloading his senses. He clutched his head and tried to block everything out. He couldn't even _think straight_...

Something flicked Vegeta's nose and he jumped about a foot in the air. Heart pounding, he tried to locate Ren again but he was already gone. But had he left the room, or was Vegeta still too distracted? He lowered himself to the ground until he was sitting. His old teacher, Zellary, had mentioned meditation-induced trances a few times but never let him try it. He knew the technique, though... Vegeta thought back to each word of the lessons he'd taken, and started to breathe. The music and incense slowly faded. Ahhhh... that was better.

Vegeta resurfaced. Though nothing had changed, he knew Ren was at the shelves again. But it was strange... there was something else near another wall, probably on the floor... Oh, well. It wasn't Ren.

"You're by the—" Vegeta cut himself off and sneezed. Something had changed. "—By the shelves again. And you're..." There was a new smell, faint compared with the incense but distinct. Vegeta pulled off his blindfold. "... Eating pork bone ramen?"

Ren nodded, slurping up a bowl of noodles with chopsticks. A feather duster lay on the now-clean shelves. Vegeta turned and saw a futon set up against the wall that had given him pause before. Well, that solved every mystery.

"I'm impressed!" Ren said. "It took you a little long to deal with the distractions... it's almost suppertime... but you succeeded, which is all I care about. Next time we revisit this, we'll apply it to battle where it's most useful."

Vegeta nodded happily. Battle! "But what is it? How was I finding you? I couldn't tell... I just concentrated and then I _knew._ "

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Ren asked in surprise. "Sorry about that. You're feeling the tiny air currents and how they bounce off things in the room. It's kind of like echolocation, but with touch instead of hearing."

Vegeta looked wide-eyed at Ren. Up until now, he'd just read about different ways of punching or kicking things. This was so COOL!

"Anyway, like I said, it's suppertime. You're free to go. Come back here at 8:30 tomorrow morning. And you're bringing a friend, right?"

Vegeta was halfway out the door. "Yes." But he couldn't help but have second thoughts. It felt like he'd discovered a secret in Ren's training, a secret he didn't want to share. But in order to surpass Nappa and become the strongest Saiyan properly, he couldn't know things that Nappa didn't.

"The more the merrier," Ren said, chewing on a cider-flavored toothdrop and hopping into his futon. "See you tomorrow!"

Vegeta ran off happily. His new teacher was the best. He hadn't been excited like this in all the time he'd had to study and take lessons with Zellary, ever since he was two and a half years old. He hadn't known anything about fighting before.


	3. Six Months of Training

Chapter 3

"Hmm... hmmm... tall... _very muscular..._ no hair... skin lightly tanned... _tail_..." Ren's eyes lit up. "You're Saiyan too, aren't you?"

Nappa nodded. "And you are...?"

"He doesn't know," Vegeta interrupted. "He just says 'this and that.'" It was the second day of training and Vegeta was eager to skip the formalities and get the lesson started.

"Which reminds me," Ren said, going over to the shelves, "I have your uniforms ready." He handed a pile of cloth to Vegeta and Nappa each. "Nappa, was it?" Ren smiled apologetically. "I'll have a better one tomorrow. I wasn't expecting you to be so _tall_. Vegeta's a little drop of water next to you."

Nappa held up the Vegeta-sized shirt and pants. "Uh, no problem." Vegeta was already done changing. It was a simple _gi,_ a deep red shirt and shorts with black cuffs and a black belt. There was a patch with the Universal character for "student warrior" on the front and another larger one with "Vegeta" on the back.

"Another Saiyan!" Ren said. "How many of you survived?"

"Just us and one other, about Vegeta's age," Nappa said.

"Oh, see, _that's_ who I thought you were talking about when you asked to bring someone," Ren told Vegeta. "Why not invite him? He's missing out."

"We don't need to," Vegeta said. He thought of Raditz, probably running in circles and getting out of breath right now, and tried not to laugh. "He's exactly where he needs to be."

"All right," Ren said. "Nappa, Vegeta and I were doing some testing yesterday. Do you know how to sense people's presences?"

Nappa frowned. "Yeah. Something about how air moves around stuff, right?"

Ren clapped. "Exactly! But you sounded a little unsure. How about I give you a refresher before we move on?"

Nappa agreed.

"Vegeta, you can sit this one out," Ren said. "But don't let your mind wander, I want you to pay close attention to what happens."

Vegeta retreated to the walls as Ren gave Nappa the same instructions from the day before. This suuuuucked. He was finally up on his feet, getting to use his senses for the first time, and now he had to just _sit and watch._ But if Ren thought he could learn something from observing he'd play along... for a little bit.

The lesson started. Nappa found Ren a little faster than Vegeta had the first time. Was this what he was supposed to learn, that Nappa was stronger than him? He knew _that_ already, the older Saiyan had at least twenty five years on him.

Ren lit the second candle. Nappa's brow furrowed at the smell, and this time it took him a _lot_ longer to make a guess. He was right, but not quite as accurate as he had been at first.

Ren winked at Vegeta and left the room. Not sensing anything, Nappa turned in a circle and grunted in frustration. Finally, he pointed at Vegeta. "That's me, Nappa."

A vein pulsed in Nappa's temple as Ren came back in the room. Nappa shook his head and turned from Vegeta to Ren as the latter floated across the floor and fiddled with something on the shelf. The music filled the room.

Nappa stopped moving, his face getting redder and redder, until he tore off the blindfold. "I give up!" he fumed. "You didn't tell me you were going to _cheat_..."

"Is that what you'll tell your enemies when they throw a stone and sneak up behind you?" Ren said. "What was your position in the Saiyan army?"

"... I was a royal guard," Nappa muttered sheepishly. That mission with Vegeta had been the first time he had left their home planet in years.

"That explains it." Ren clapped Nappa on the back. "Don't worry, I'll get you whipped back into shape again." He looked over Nappa's shoulder and raised his eyebrows at Vegeta, as if to say, "Well?"

Vegeta grinned. Nappa may be more than seven times Vegeta's strength, but he wasn't the one who had completed the exercise with no prior knowledge. History was in the making: this was the very first time he beat Nappa at something.

"Enough of this!" Ren cried. "Let's move on. Just as important as senses, or technique, is strength." He nodded at Vegeta and Nappa. "Every Saiyan's favorite part. But I want to remind you that power isn't everything. _If_ Lord Freeza had a weakness, anyone clever enough to figure it out could beat him! To be a true master of martial arts, you must not neglect the mind or the spirit."

"Yeah, but power is still the most important. What are we going to do?"

Ren looked at Vegeta, a bit disappointed. _He was probably too young to understand._ No matter. "We'll start with endurance. I've booked off this hallway today and given it half the amount of oxygen that you're used to. Let's do... hmm... a few hundred laps at a light jog."

"What about me?" Nappa asked. "I'm a lot stronger than Vegeta, this is too easy."

Ren laughed. "I think you're underestimating the exertion your heart and brain go through with thinner air. But even so," he pulled a bag with straps off one of the shelves, "you'll also be carrying this. It weighs 500 pounds."

Vegeta smirked at the surprised Nappa. "Good luck. I hope it's not too much for you."

"And _you,_ Vegeta, will take this 100 pound one," Ren said, tossing a smaller backpack at him. "You thought I'd let you off the hook? You need to start pushing your limits after yesterday's day of rest." Ren opened the door and shoved them into the hallway. "Now go! Don't stop running until you can barely walk."

Later, Vegeta and Nappa had just ducked into their rooms to grab some warmer clothes when a passing soldier noticed them and cackled.

"Keh keh keh... you Saiyans must be really glad your planet was destroyed," he said, scraping his claws together.

"Why would we be?" Vegeta leaned out of his room and glared at the soldier.

"Now you have so much space to yourself. I was getting sick of hearing complaints every night from your kind, with the way they had you sleeping five to a room. More than a thousand of you on this planet, all packed into a few hundred rooms, keh keh keh... Made me glad that I didn't have a monkey tail, I'll tell you that..." He walked off, cackling still.

Vegeta and Nappa looked at each other. Nappa looked back at his 120 square foot bedroom.

"I wonder where Raditz is right now," said Vegeta.

"You wanna go look for him?"

"Um... yeah, okay. Let's go."

*⁂*⁂*

"So you've already heard of _chi._ "

"Yeah," Vegeta said. "Zellary said that the more _chi_ someone has the stronger they are."

"Right." Ren clasped his hands behind his back in full lecture mode. "But it acts as your lifeblood whether you know about it or not. Everyone has _chi_. But it takes a master fighter to _control_ it."

"How?" Vegeta asked. Ren held out his hand. After a second it started to shimmer with green energy. "I've seen that before!" Vegeta exclaimed. "It's like a comet that you _zap_ people with."

Ren laughed. "Exactly. Nappa already knows all this, so this is your lesson. Try gathering some of your _chi_ into your hands. That's the easiest focal point for bipeds."

Vegeta nodded and closed his eyes. He pictured that energy coursing through him, too thinned out to be visible. He slowly held up his hand, fingers tense, and guided his _chi_ to his hand in tempo with the beat of his heart. When his hand started to feel hot he opened his eyes to a warm purple glow.

Ren clapped in delight. Even Nappa gave an approving nod. "Now that you can summon it, the possibilities are endless!" Ren said. "You can form a ball to throw at your enemies. In a few years, you can blow up planets with it. You can use it as a light source. You can even put out fires with it."

"What?" That was news to Nappa. "How? I've only ever _lit_ fires with it."

"It isn't fire. It's a whole different type of energy. It may seem counterintuitive, but if you want it to act like water, it will."

Vegeta, meanwhile, was staring in concentration at his _chi-_ covered hand. Suddenly, the energy shifted and formed a sphere.

"Hmm..." Ren mused, looking around. "What's least breakable...? Okay, Vegeta. You've gotten to step three on your own. Now use it as a weapon to attack me and Nappa."

Vegeta looked at them. "Really?"

"Don't worry about it," Ren said encouragingly. "We're tough. We can—"

Vegeta wound up and threw the _chi_ blast at Ren and Nappa as hard as he could. It smacked against their faces, cold and smelling of smoke. An instant later, a second one hit them. And another one after that. They came faster and faster, harder and harder, until the whole room was filled with purple light and Ren's shelves shook in their frames.

But a green glow was coming in from behind the wall of violet, and soon Vegeta's barrage was overpowered by Ren's defense. Vegeta stopped, panting.

"Very, _very_ well done!" Ren said. "Has Zellary taught you about the different ways of summoning _chi_?"

Still out of breath, Vegeta shook his head.

"Interesting... the easier ones, the ones everybody starts with, use any spare _chi_ you have to make the blast. But the most effective ones, the ones that _make you tired,_ " Ren said pointedly, "are ones where you take energy that your body is already using. With the extra _chi,_ the blast becomes much more powerful." Ren paused, lost in thought.

"Isn't it the end of the day?" Nappa asked, seeing the clock. _Hmph. Mental training in the morning and then this, which I already know. Some teacher Ren's turning out to be._

"Oh! Sorry about that, you two are free to go. Ummm, your homework for tomorrow is to demonstrate five uses for _chi_. And that includes you too, Nappa."

On the way to the cafeteria, Vegeta spoke. "Do you think Raditz is learning anything about _chi?_ " Since they were in separate classes they spent the evenings practicing with the low-class Saiyan in the communal training center.

"I don't think so," Nappa said. "Why?"

Vegeta got a wicked gleam in his eyes. "We should get to him first. Let's tell him about the easy kind—but that's all."

"What, so he never learns to make the strong _chi_ blasts?"

"Yeah. After all, he's so _weak_ that it's probably not a good idea for him to be using up too much energy. He might lose too much and die."

Nappa shrugged. It didn't matter to him if Vegeta hated Raditz, he just didn't understand why. "Sure. Let's have a little fun with him."

*⁂*⁂*

After a long day, Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz were cooling down in their shared room. Nappa had the bed and Vegeta and Raditz had opposite ends of a futon.

"Are you... _sure..._ the air conditioning's on?" Raditz panted, sprawled out on the futon, which they had borrowed from Ren. "I think I'm gonna die."

"Move your feet or I'll cut them off," Vegeta grunted, trying to meditate.

"It's too cold," said Nappa resentfully, sitting on the bed with his arms crossed. They had been "training" for a solid three hours and he wasn't warm at all.

Outside the door, there was a knock and some kind of _thump_. Vegeta opened the door to nothing but a trash bag on the ground. "See what's inside," he said, dumping it on Nappa's lap.

"Whoa, it's my copy of the Official Core Textbook of Space Travel and Conquest!" Nappa pulled a thick book out the bag. "We were going over it on the way to that planet with the trees, remember? This must be the stuff from our old spaceship."

"My pajamas!" said Vegeta, digging through the bag. Time stopped when the blood red pajamas, decorated with gold trim and the royal family crest in black, unfolded out of the bag and filled the small room with the smell of their home planet.

"Can... can I see those?" Raditz whispered, nose twitching.

"Gross, no!" Vegeta put them behind his back. "Don't you have your own stuff?"

"Yeah, it's in my room!" Raditz said happily. "... On Planet Vegeta."

"Vegeta, _look,"_ said Nappa. He had three rings in the palm of his hand. Two crest-stamped ones denoting royal citizens and a silver monogrammed one encrusted with precious stones that only princes could wear.

"Oh, those're valuable now," Raditz said as Vegeta grabbed his two.

"They were valuable _before,_ they cost almost ten million Uni just to make _,"_ Vegeta huffed. "Hey, what about all those empty rooms that guy was talking about? They must be full of stuff from the Saiyans who were staying there. Let's go see what else is left over!"

"No, they've all been cleared out," said Nappa. "I saw it the other day. They just threw everything away."

"Oh." Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz looked at each other and then at the small pile on Nappa's bed. "I guess that's it then."

*⁂*⁂*

"This one'll get you. What does IGRIS stand for?"

"... Inter-Galactically Recognized..." Nappa ventured, scrubbing the tiled floor with a dripping mop. He used a prefix that came up a lot in his textbook.

"... Intelligent Species," Vegeta finished. He'd been lucky, that was one of the last things he'd learned before his planet blew up. "That means they're considered people and not animals, right?" He dunked his mop in the bucket of water.

"Right. Nice teamwork," Ren said. "Next part. How many are there, and how is knowing each one important for you?"

Nappa was stumped.

"73," Vegeta answered.

 _73_

 _races are free_

 _to beg and plead_

 _against all our deeds_

 _that we agree_

 _kill the bad breed_

That was what Zellary gave him to remember it. "And it's important that we know because it's illegal to kill anyone from those races. And we can't sell their planets." Vegeta crossed his arms. "But Lord Freeza can do whatever he wants, so that rule isn't really useful. Like 'I before E, except after C.'"

"A businessman has to either follow the rules most of the time, or give up their patrons," Ren said. "If Lord Freeza wanted to, he could just torture half the galaxy and send the rest into slavery, so let's be glad he went into entrepreneuring. Even though he basically rules the universe already. Next question. What do you do if you're in charge of processing a planet, but find out the locals are too strong for you?"

Call for reinforcements? As if. Maybe go back to a Freeza planet and train to beat them? But wouldn't that count as retreating? Vegeta frowned and pushed his tongue around his teeth, puzzled.

"Ten days to find a weakness, then get backup if you're unsuccessful," Nappa said easily.

"Correct."

Vegeta looked to the two of them, getting more and more confused. " _That_ was the right—"

"Ren, why are we cleaning the floors while we do this?" Nappa asked, going back to mopping.

"Obviously it's a training exercise," Vegeta said, annoyed at Nappa's dumb thick skull.

Ren ducked his head, embarrassed. "Um, actually, it's not. Lord Freeza assigned me to do it and it's more efficient this way."

"But you're a teacher, not a janitor," Vegeta said. "Why would he treat you like that? Why are you _letting_ him?"

"It doesn't matter," Ren said. "I'm not cut out to be a soldier. Lord Freeza likes to remind me. Constantly. Besides," he grinned, hitting his stride, "it's an opportunity!"

Ren grabbed a mop and smeared a trail of water across the hallway. "This half is Vegeta's and this one is Nappa's. Whoever cleans their half first wins. But you can't touch each other! You have to use the mop handles to fight."

The two Saiyans looked at Ren, doubtful. "Ren..." Vegeta said. "That's kind of lame."

"Hmm... well, they haven't been feeding you enough, have they? Fine, winner gets fifteen bowls of ramen with extra pork—and dumplings."

Vegeta and Nappa's gaze met. In the blink of an eye, soapy water sprayed everywhere as they leaped at each other, the wooden handles clacking in a midair collision.

Vegeta tried to get away to spend a moment mopping his side but Nappa shoved him in the back, _hard_. He crashed to the ground, knocking the bucket over and soaking his uniform on the floor.

As Nappa attacked, Vegeta whipped his wet sleeve out, splattering Nappa in the face with dirty water. Vegeta easily blocked Nappa's mop and rolled into a crouch. He slammed the mop against the back of Nappa's knee, toppling him.

As Nappa struggled to get up, Vegeta mopped furiously. The handle of Nappa's mop shot out and jabbed Vegeta in the stomach. When the small Saiyan doubled over, Ren wished he had a whistle to blow. "Be careful, Nappa! He's not as strong as you."

"He can take it," Nappa said, mopping. "When he was two he fell off the biggest cliff on Planet Vegeta, in 10 G, and he didn't get a scratch."

"That doesn't mean it was _fun_ ," Vegeta said, straightening up and winding his foot back. "And I only fell because you _pushed me!_ " He kicked Nappa in the head as hard as he could.

"RRRAAAAAAHH!" Nappa went berserk. Head injuries always set him off. Ren was ready and he was on Nappa in an instant, but not before Vegeta had taken three thoughtless punches.

"Are you okay?" Ren asked, easily holding back Nappa, incensed, red-faced, and seemingly unaware of his surroundings. Vegeta had crawled to one of the walls and was holding his head.

"Uh... o—ow..." he groaned, pulling out one of his baby teeth. " _Ow..._ My head really hurts..."

"Let's get you to the infirmary," said Ren, concerned. "Can you stand?"  
"No, we aren't done yet!" Vegeta struggled to his feet and grabbed his mop. "Ren, let go of Nappa so he doesn't fall behind." The battle lasted another five minutes. Vegeta had the ingenious idea of swiping at the floor as he wound up to attack or defend, but Nappa had longer reach and was the eventual winner.

"Time for ramen!" Nappa was eager. He hadn't had a decent meal in weeks.

"I was just kidding," Ren said cheerfully.

Nappa and even Vegeta stared at him with betrayal in their eyes. So Ren was just another two-faced dog working under Lord Freeza after all. But he had seemed so _promising_...

"Of course you would win, you're more than seven times stronger than Vegeta. That isn't fair. You _both_ get ramen!"

*⁂*⁂*

One day Vegeta was trailing behind Nappa and Raditz on the way to the cafeteria. The ground shook slightly and he looked out the window onto the landing pad—two combatant pods had just come in hot. He wasn't looking where he was going and a pair of aliens in white robes instead of armor knocked him to the ground as they ran past. Fuming, Vegeta got up to pick a fight while they pushed through the door onto the landing pad.

Vegeta followed them out as the pods' doors opened automatically. The smell of blood shot through his nose the second the medics pulled out the first mangled soldier. He couldn't tell what kind of alien it was, it was so beaten. Its blood was green and it probably walked on two legs... well, it probably used to walk on two legs. Its armor was cracking and pieces of it rained on the ground as one of the medics hoisted it up on his shoulders. The second soldier was in similar condition, but worse. His breaths were too loud, too whistling, too _wet._

"What happened to them?" Vegeta asked, following the medics back inside.

"They just got back from an extermination campaign, it happens," said the shorter medic breathlessly, shifting his grip on the soldier.

"Did they win or did they lose?"  
"Nnnh. Ask 'em yourself in two weeks when they wake up."

Vegeta had a bit of trouble falling asleep that night. He counted nine more months of training before he would be sent out there, into the dark vacuum of space. And there wasn't anything else he could, or wanted to, do.

"I got this idea from your old instructor!" Ren called down to Vegeta from Nappa's shoulders.

"Can you hurry it up a little?" Nappa said. "It's almost lunchtime and I'm getting tired." He hadn't drank his zota yet and his head hurt.

"Tired... of sitting... on my back?" Vegeta got out between pushups. _1000 down, only 1000 to go. Only 999 to go..._

*⁂*⁂*

"You'd think there would be more of a gap left by all the Saiyans who were stationed here," remarked Vegeta one lunchtime.

Nappa shrugged. "They were just soldiers like everyone else. This planet has more than a million people living here."

"But we're the only race who _completely_ works for Lord Freeza. Don't you guys think that means something?"

Nappa didn't say anything, eyes on his plate. Raditz smiled like an airhead. One plus one plus one was three.

*⁂*⁂*

"But why do I have to spar with you?" Vegeta complained, dangling upside down. "With Nappa, I have a _chance_."

"What do you mean?" Nappa said angrily. "I'm thousands of points stronger than you!"

"Yeah, but you make dumb mistakes that even the odds."

"You still haven't beaten me yet, have you?"

"Getting back on topic, Vegeta, how do you escape?" Ren asked. "Since I'm holding you by your ankles and you can barely move."

"That's easy." Vegeta wrapped his tail around Ren's arm and flipped himself so he was upright, though still caught. "Then I just—kick—like that to break your grip..." Vegeta did a single flip off Ren's arm and landed. "... And there! Nothing to it."

"Why are you only training _him?_ " Nappa asked bitterly.

"Because he's four and you've technically been a soldier for years," Ren said, surprised at Nappa's attitude. Then he remembered that Saiyans didn't care about status or age. "But really, it's because he's not as strong as you and he's at a disadvantage with height. Of course," Ren winked at Vegeta, "it's only a disadvantage if you don't know how to use it. And this kid's getting pretty close."

"If you're bored, I'll fight you," Vegeta said eagerly. As much as he loved his teacher, Ren refused to do anything _but_ teach, even in battle. The best thing about Nappa was that if you wound him up enough, he'd lose his temper and fight for _real_.

"Why are you so obsessed with fighting Nappa?" Ren said. "Okay, it's a Saiyan thing. But I can't let you two at each other _now_. Nappa, you've been a guard for a long time and Vegeta just doesn't have any experience. Neither of you are used to sparring. You almost killed each other with the mops."

"So?" Vegeta said.

"You only have me for the year. After that, you two can fight all you want. But for now, let's do things my way, all right?"

Neither Saiyan looked very enthusiastic.

Ren sighed. He hated classes with lackluster energy. "Okay, okay, both of you come at me at once and I won't hold back _quite_ as much."

And that was all it took.

*⁂*⁂*

It had been almost half a year since Vegeta started training. He wouldn't know how much stronger he had gotten until the year was up, but he could already feel it. And he was sure he was taller.

The three Saiyans were getting ready for bed at the washing station on their floor. Vegeta and Nappa were telling Raditz about their afternoon's training: sensing movement by fighting each other blindfolded.

"Nappa's so mad because he can't beat me," Vegeta grinned, splashing water on his face. "Now I'm six for six."

"That sounds _cool._ " Raditz chewed a caramel flavored toothdrop and seethed. He was more than jealous of the other two Saiyans' daily reports on all the fighting they were doing. "We've only been playing four-square all week. You know, that game where you bounce the ball off other people's squares or their bodies?"

"That's _hilarious,_ " cried Ren, poking his head in the open doorway. "I'll have to incorporate it into my future training."

"I hate Instructor Bliddor," Raditz said bitterly. "He says it counts when the ball touches my hair. I'm out twice as often as everyone else."

Those two medics ran by the door. Something about the look on their faces made Vegeta follow them out into the hallway. He followed them all the way to the same landing pad he had seen the injured soldiers on. The same two ships were there, but this time the doors opened on empty seats.

"Oh. They could have bothered to let us know," said the shorter medic, shaking his head as they turned away.

"Why are the ships empty?" Vegeta asked, grabbing the hem of his robe.

"You're the kid from before! Scoot along little buddy, nothing to see here."

"These are those soldiers' ships, right? So where are they?"

"Well... they're, uh, they're... they're dead, son."

"Oh." Vegeta frowned. "Were they on another mission? What locals would kill the soldiers and send back the ships?"

"They had a meeting with Lord Freeza." The medic's partner grabbed him around the neck and smiled a tight-lipped smile. "Best be getting back to the infirmary! Goodnight kid!"

Vegeta stood in the open doorway, quietly watching the ships get rolled away. When the landing pad was clear and soldiers were pushing past him to return to their stations he walked back the way he had come. The halls were empty by this time, and when he passed the washing station Nappa and Raditz had already gone.

Hours later, while the other two Saiyans slept deeply, Vegeta was awake. His eyes were on the dim sliver of light under his doorway. Another hour passed. Vegeta got out of bed and opened his door. Off to the left, all the way at the end, a door that he walked past every day was wide open. Its previous occupant was gone, but a placard by the door was still up: _**Rhuba.**_

What was an empty room with the lights off by day was now a softly-lit den with beanbags and bowls of snacks. Four people were sitting in a close circle, taking up about half the space.

"... And it isn't impossible or silly, it just takes some practice and I guarantee you'll get more and more fun out of your missions," a white alien with a dozen blue and purple strings growing out of his face was saying.

"What's going on?" Vegeta said, jumping into the middle of the circle, right next to some mixed nuts and salty fried things.

" _Whoa,_ where did he come from?!" the white alien gasped. "Haven't seen you before. Are you here to join the group?"

"Yeah," said Vegeta confidently. Just like that, a space opened and he backed up into the circle.

"That's it, I'll have to start over." Instantly two of the soldiers started complaining loudly. It sounded like Blue Strings had been well in the middle of a speech to one of them when the other walked in, and Blue Strings had started from the beginning without missing a beat, just like he was about to do now.

"My name is _Goji Minko,"_ said Blue Strings loudly, knocking over the mixed nuts when he went to clap his hands. The fourth guy at the table, wearing casual clothes instead of armor like Goji, smacked him upside the head and got up to close the door. "My name is _Goji Minko,"_ whispered Goji, "and I'm here to teach you to find _conceptual fights."_

"What are conceptual fights?" Vegeta butted in.

"... You may ask," said Goji with a smile. "Since this guy has heard the pitch twice now, why don't you give us an example? You're all going to have to go before the end of the meeting, so might as well get it over with." The grey soldier with the wobbly Adam's apple, knobby knees, and stick limbs gulped.

"O—okay... just now, just like this? Okay..." He put his hands over his eyes and took a deep breath. "... Got it. So there's this father and he has a son, right? That's why he's a father. So one day the father gets the feeling his son's found a girl, 'cause, see, he's been spending more time away from home and he always has this goofy look on. So the father confronts him, right? And he sez 'Son, I know you've been getting uppity in the years, so I want you to be honest with me. Are youse seeing a little lady nowthesedays?' And the son starts blushing like crazy, right! 'Cause he's embarrassed and such!" The soldier fell back in his beanbag, exhausted.

"... What was that?" Goji said after a while. "What were you trying to talk about?"

"Okay, okay, okay! So my last mission I'as on, I'as setting a ton of fires and things to, y'know, smoke 'em out. And bake 'em through. Anyways, all this fire and smoke or something made the 'son' turn 'red'!"

Goji would have knocked over another bowl on purpose this time if the fourth man hadn't caught him. "You tried. You also confessed to damaging a planet's resale value. Take him away, Kal." The fourth man, Kal, dragged the thin soldier away. Goji turned to the soldier that was a cliff face bursting out of his chair, bigger than Nappa. "Your turn. You've had enough of a chance to understand what's going on."

The cliff face nodded with a self-satisfied look on his face. "A guy drinks a lot of red Kool-Aid. Gallons and gallons. And gallons. That was my conseptul story. It's about when there was blood on my mission. Millions and millions of people-blood. The end."

 _Whoa._ "Did you—did you actually—" Vegeta started, sitting up in his beanbag.

"Okay big guy, not bad!" Goji said nervously. "Definitely a start. A little short, not too much showmanship, but—"

"What is this? I don't get it," Vegeta said, taking some salty fried things and crunching loudly. "It's dumb."

"I'll go next, Goji," said Kal from the door. "I thought up a good one on the way back."

"Kalmerra, buddy! Yeah, you go and show these guys what I'm talking about!"

Kalmerra took his seat beside Goji and folded his hands thoughtfully. "Amagnemon the hamster lives in a cage. One day he gets pulled out and shoved in a plastic ball. He can run inside, but he slips and slides around, bumps his head, is upside down half the time. His fingernails keep scraping against a crack in the plastic. So he pulls at it and scrambles through... he's outside the ball.

"Now he's already sliding down. He doesn't want to fall off, so he sets off running faster than he ever has before, hands slamming the broken crack back into place whenever it rolls underfoot. And he's _doing it,_ he's balancing right on top, running his heart out..." Kalmerra smiled in a sly way. "The house disappears around him and he's still on top of the ball in black space, the sun blazing overhead, nothing moving except for the pitter-patter of his little feet."

Goji said something indecipherable through a mouth full of fried things. "You cheater! That sounds like _description_ to me!"

Kalmerra shrugged. "Yeah, but it's _cool,_ isn't it? Just picture that image."

"Okay, okay, it's very cool. What was your original?"

"It's a good one. I was processing a planet where the locals had built this giant road that stretched around the whole circumference, like a belt or a band. And after I interrogated the locals for some rates and speeds, I started running on it. And I ran at just the speed that time _stopped._ The sun was frozen in the sky. It was great."

"What's your power level?" Vegeta asked sleepily. _He_ wanted to do that.

"6,000."

"Oh." He'd have to wait a whole year.

"My turn." Goji sat up in his seat, eyes shining. "It's a beautiful afternoon in Hamsterville. All the hamsters had been hard at work all morning, digging through the ground, eating seeds, playing in the puddles from the rain last night, racing each other around the forest. They all earned a nice long nap. Sunlight streams through the trees as they sleep, warming them better than the softest blankets on the coziest bed. They really did have a productive morning. So productive, in fact, that every single hamster in Hamsterville has completed their purpose in life and, with nothing else left to do, they slowly fade out of existence one—by—one over the course of an hour. And when the last 'ster has disappeared, when the forest floor is finally free of shadows, the ground becomes warm."

"Got a little sci-fi there," said Kal, accepting his defeat to a self-satisfied Goji. "So is the kid going to go?"

"He's asleep."

Vegeta woke up when Kal carried him into the hallway. "... Goji? What... what was that story about?" He yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"It was a mission I had last year," said Goji, walking beside them. "When I touched down, every single local was passed out not matter where I went. No idea what was going on, but all the signs pointed to some kind of natural gas so I grabbed my respirator right away. And then they were sitting _ducks!_ Uh, sitting hamsters. Easiest mission I've had in years, I was done two months ahead of schedule." Vegeta's head had drooped and Goji poked him. "You never introduced yourself, by the way."

"'Geta."

"Well, Vegeta, next time you'll have to tell a story of your own."

"I don't even know what that was all about," Vegeta mumbled from Kal's shoulder.

"Come for the whole meeting next time. This day, this room, every week at nine o'clock. Am I seeing you next week?"

Vegeta moved his head, but it was impossible to tell if it was a shake or a nod. Kalmerra _tsked_ and threw him into his room, right on top of Raditz. Neither Saiyan woke. "Kids. You think he's going to come back, Goji?"  
Goji closed the door on the three Saiyans. "I have a feeling, somehow. Wonder what kind of experiences a kid that young would use."

*⁂*⁂*

"I've been going over a lot of physical and mental training, but today's lesson is something a bit different." Ren and Vegeta were alone in the room. Raditz had the day off and Nappa elected to spend it whipping him into shape with some real training.

"If it's not physical or mental, what does it have to do with our training?" Vegeta asked, a bit worried that he hadn't been told of another kind.

"Everything, in fact," Ren said, uncharacteristically serious. "It's not physical or mental per se, but without it you can never be great. I know I've been more relaxed with my teaching, but this is probably the most important thing you'll learn all year so pay attention. I'm not going to tell you this again."

Vegeta leaned forward. This was clearly a big deal, but what was there about battle that he didn't already know? What secret was Ren sitting on?

"Just as important as having a strong mind or body is having a strong spirit. I'm only going to give you a hint—the only one who can train a spirit is the owner."

"But _what is it?_ " Vegeta said, muscles tense with anticipation. "What _is_ the hint?"

"Find your reasons behind wanting to fight and _commit_ to them. Hey... don't look so disappointed. That's only the first part. I know that as a Saiyan you were born knowing what battle meant to you, and to question your commitment to this art is unthinkable, but it can't hurt to tell you.

"The life you are preparing to lead. Travelling to many planets. Seeing dozens of new cultures. Tearing those cultures apart. And most of all, working for Lord Freeza. At some point, something will happen that will shake your beliefs. Make you doubt yourself. Maybe even make you lose faith in what matters most. Do you know what you must do to pull through intact, as a warrior?"

"Never stop!" Vegeta said, convinced. "Know that above all you're in the right and eliminate whatever's causing the problem!"

"That's part of it," Ren said. "True, there are many situations that determination solves. But if your belief in your own strength is what drives you, Vegeta, as I'm sure it will be when you mature, let me ask you this: what happens when you find yourself at the height of your power but still weaker than your opponent? Lord Freeza is the obvious candidate, of course, but what if the opponent was someone once weaker than you? What would you do?" Ren was so intent on getting his point across that he was yelling now. " _What would you do?_ "

"I—I don't know!" Vegeta stuttered, taken aback by Ren's intensity and the concept of being outclassed when he grew up. He should have thought of that. Why hadn't he thought of that?

"That's the problem," Ren sighed. "You don't know. Do you have any idea how many brilliant warriors have been _ruined_ because of this? Everyone faces an attack on their spirit at some point, sometimes multiple attacks. So I'm going to tell you how to defend yourself, okay?"

"Yes!" Vegeta was desperate to know the answer.

"Hold fast to your beliefs as long as you can, like you said. But if and when you sense the time has come to change them, _do not ignore that impulse."_

"Change? You mean stop fighting?" Vegeta was worried. He couldn't. He hadn't even begun to fight yet and it was already all he had. Literally, his home and family were gone.

"Not necessarily. Do whatever the situation calls for. If that means teaming up with a former enemy, do it. If that means learning a new technique, do it. And yes, if that means accepting your place as less than the best, do it."

"But how? How could I even see such a path, let alone choose it?"

"Have you felt it?" Ren said, looking around at his matted room they had spent so many hours practicing in. "The _essence_ of the martial arts?"

"..." Vegeta stared at the ground. Slowly he shook his head, beyond ashamed. "Back... back on my planet, I'd study history and law and culture. Saiyan in the morning, everyone else in the afternoon. Once they told me to land a punch on your third knuckles and to keep your thumb on the outside. All this training we've been doing doesn't feel like anything yet. I don't know when I'll finish catching up."

"That's fine. This time before you arrive will become insignificant very soon. And I believe very soon you will start feeling the essence, start to see yourself reflected in it. But for now, just know that it's bigger than you. For in it lies every single technique, every perception of reality, every attack made by every warrior regardless of skill. And in it lies the solution to any problem you could possibly come across. It's easy to learn to find it. What takes true strength of spirit is to take the solution that goes against your ideals."

"So I'm supposed to change, just like that?" Vegeta demanded. "I can't do that."

"This will be a once-in-a-lifetime moment," Ren assured him. "I don't expect you to shift your morals at the drop of a hat. But if and when the time comes, you must be strong enough to do what you have to do."

"How can I train?" Vegeta said. "What could I ever do to prepare myself?"

"Just pay attention to the world around you. See how other people are different from you. See what you like and don't like. The more open your mind is, the easier it will be."

"But that doesn't mean I have to experiment with different perspectives," Vegeta said. "I should just note them and move on."

"Now you're getting it. Some warriors are chameleons, constantly changing their values and techniques. But you, as a Saiyan, would do better to just observe."

"You're trying to prepare me against losing my will to fight," Vegeta said, realization dawning.

"Yes, that is what happens if you can't adapt," Ren said. "In fact it happens to almost every fighter. The greatest warriors keep their passion for battle their entire lives, smoothly changing their approach every time they hit a snag. They're like the currents in a river, always moving forward, choosing a fork in the stream without hesitation."

Vegeta said nothing, shaken. Thoughts of ancient masters, unthinkably powerful, full to the brim with strength they had earned with nothing but their own wisdom and will, danced in his mind's eye. He wanted to be strong like _them,_ strong like _Lord Freeza._

"You waited until Nappa was gone to tell me, didn't you?" Vegeta said. This was too important for there to be any other reason.

Ren nodded. "Yes. He's old already, and very set in his ways. He wouldn't have humored me. But _you,_ Vegeta," Ren rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, eyes sparkling with excitement. "I can see the potential surrounding your every move. I'm not sure what you'll turn into, but I want to help you to greatness as much as I can."

Vegeta surprised Ren by stepping forwards and throwing his arms around Ren's knees. "I promise I'll become the best fighter in the universe."

Ren patted the small Saiyan's head. It was strange how un-Saiyanlike Vegeta could be at times. He was still developing... he didn't quite have the ruthlessness and unhinged pride that his race was known for. Ren was sure that would come later. But for now, he couldn't help but be fond of this boy, so in love with the martial arts. "Try to hold on to that light in your eyes for as long as you can," Ren said. "But I have to warn you one last time. When the time comes, making the choice to change or press on will be one of the hardest—and most painful—things you will ever do." All Ren could do was drill this into Vegeta's mind as much as possible, because once Freeza got to him he was going to change into a different person. They always did. "I wouldn't spend too much time looking up to... certain people near the top if I were you."

Vegeta blinked. "Of course not. The only person I look up to is Lord Freeza."


	4. Six More Months of Training

Chapter 4

"Welcome back!"

Vegeta couldn't help feeling happy when the door opened before they even knocked. "Hey Goji. This is Nappa and this is Raditz, they're with me."

"What's going on?" Nappa said out of the corner his mouth to Raditz, who passed it along to Vegeta as he only reached Nappa's knees. Vegeta shrugged vaguely and took a seat next to Goji.

"We're just waiting on three more," Goji said, checking the time. The three Saiyans had walked in on him and Kalmerra alone.

"One's recovering from a fight, one said he isn't coming, and one told me to tell you that you're an idiot who's wasting all our time," said Kalmerra, looking up from his book.

"That's me! Hi!" Goji said enthusiastically, shaking Nappa and Raditz's hands. There was suspicion on their faces, but it disappeared the instant he brought out the snack bowls. "That's good news. We don't have to wait up. Okay, thank you three for being here." He chuckled. "I really appreciate it, even though... aha... none of you knows what this group is. So I'll tell you! My name is _Goji Minko,_ and I'm here to teach you about _conceptual fights."_

"What's that?" Nappa asked, stuffing his face. Vegeta grabbed the bowl away from him and began to stuff his own face. Raditz hovered around Vegeta and Nappa, trying to grab any snacks that flew through the air for himself.

Goji waited patiently for the Saiyans to eat all the food in the room, a whole twenty seconds. Kalmerra closed the door to encourage them to stay when the food ran out. "Every one of us soldiers has the same role in the Freeza Force, right? We're the ones who get in all the fights. But what do we spend our time doing the most, other than that?"

"Eating," said Vegeta.

"Sleeping," said Nappa.

"Sneezing!" said Raditz, laughing gleefully at his own joke.

"No, _talking_ about fights. How many times do you hear guys in the hallway bragging and giving play by plays? But after a while it starts to _suck._ 'He kicked', 'I reacted in time', 'I got hurt'... of course the story's interesting to the storyteller, he was there _._ But none of us were. Vegeta should see where this is going now. It's much, _much_ more interesting to _represent_ the fight. For example... 'The tick attached to Papa Smurf's arm was swelling bigger and bigger every second, and when he swatted at it it exploded in a burst of azure blood' instead of 'I attacked by a group of locals as they were eating their supper, which was blue.'" Goji looked at Vegeta expectantly. Vegeta met his eyes but he didn't say anything. "Would anyone like to try first?" Goji prompted.

"Yeah, I got a good one." It was Nappa who spoke first, still licking his fingers. "You know how no one leaves for a planet without setting the _sleep_ timer on their spaceship? This one time, this one guy bought a second-hand ship with a _sleep_ timer that didn't work and when he wanted to travel to another planet he didn't bother to get it fixed. It was a three month trip in a one-seater. When he landed it wasn't like he _lost_ his mind, it was like it _never existed."_ Nappa sat back with a smug, "picture that" sort of look on his face.

"No, Nappa, it has to be something that actually happened to you. Here... I was doing a really fun mission but then some guys made me leave but I met my two best friends so it's all good!" Raditz said, giving it his all.

"Uh, that's not it either." Goji was disappointed _and_ there weren't any snacks left for him.

"Tegeva took a different way home one day and found an old well on its own in the middle of the woods," said Vegeta, lying down across two beanbags outside the circle and staring at the ceiling. "It was uncovered. When he leaned over to look inside, he thought he could see something but it was _just_ too dark. His back felt warm and the grass behind him started to glow as the sun made its way out from under a cloud. The sunlight pushed the shadows away from the well, getting closer and closer, and just as the black water finally started to sparkle, Tegeva's associate, Apnap, came out of nowhere and pulled the cover over the well. He said 'Don't use that old thing, there's no bucket."

"What did Tegeva see in the well?" Goji asked intently, stroking a handful of the strings on his jaw absentmindedly.

"Nothing," said Vegeta, "he didn't have enough time. But there was definitely something down there. Something... grotesque."

"What was your original?" asked Kalmerra.

"It was the earliest memory I have. Back on my home planet, I was in my room, looking at the clouds at night. The moon was shining behind them and it was full and so bright that it looked like daytime. I was waiting for the clouds to go so I could see the moon for the first time, which was when an associate closed the shutters, like I said." Vegeta glared at Nappa. "And I _still_ haven't seen the full moon."  
"Not until you're six, that's the rule," said Nappa. "Besides, you were in the _palace_ and it was past your bedtime. What was I supposed to do?"

Goji suddenly ripped out the strings he'd been pulling on. "That was good!"

"Are you okay?!" gasped Vegeta. "What did you do that for?!"

"I just couldn't stand it!" Goji laughed. New strings were already poking their way out in place of the old ones. "I take it back, you guys are alright! That reminds me of another one..."

The group stayed together for hours trading stories and practicing. Everyone was exhausted by the end, but even Nappa and Raditz had caught on and by the next week they all met like old friends. There were three new faces that week, and one of them stuck around for the week after that.

It was real fun and Vegeta slept better for days after every session, but he couldn't stand being the only one telling conceptual stories instead of conceptual fights.

*⁂*⁂*

One day, past the halfway point of their arrivals, Vegeta and Nappa met Raditz in the training center. They never saw the weakest Saiyan during the day anymore—after going through most of the basics, Ren had them spend all their time _fighting._ Fighting him, fighting each other, fighting blind, fighting in their minds. They had done almost every kind of fighting there was. It was almost paradise; the only thing it lacked was new blood and higher stakes. The principles and strategies sunk into Vegeta's bones until attacking felt as easy and natural as breathing. Just as it should be for a Saiyan.

This intensive period of training left little desire in the two Saiyans' hearts for anything else. But eventually Ren had actually kicked them out, saying they had to rest for a few days at least. So naturally they had gone to train with Raditz.

"What have they been getting you to do, anyway?" Nappa asked with little interest as Raditz practiced punching and kicking.

"A lot of strength and endurance training," Raditz said. "Instructor Bliddor has this exercise where he fills the fire sprinklers with boiling hot water and we either have to dodge or take it without flinching."

Vegeta and Nappa looked at each other. Ren had never done anything like that.

"Once we watched a live video of some soldiers processing a planet," Raditz continued. "This one guy's head exploded! And the blood went, like, _everywhere!_ What about you guys? What's this special training all about?"

"We haven't been doing much other than spar these days," Nappa said, leaning against the wall with a self-satisfied look on his face. "We learned a few root languages other than Universal, I guess."

"We had a ramen-eating contest the other day," Vegeta chimed in. "Nappa won, but only because I forgot and ate a big lunch before."

"I didn't even have any zota!" said Nappa proudly.

"Or maybe he won because he's like ten times your weight," Raditz said, laughing. Then he got jealous. Again. "Aww, your training sounds _awesome._ Why did I get stuck with the normal people? I'm Saiyan too!"

"You're there because you suck." Why was Raditz still so clueless? But that was part of the reason why Vegeta liked seeing him.

"It's actually not that great," Nappa said dismissively. "Ren spends most of the time babying Vegeta."

"He does _not!_ " Vegeta said angrily. "You're just sore because I'm better at image training than you. Besides," his voice got quieter, "which would you rather have: this, or Standardized Nothing with _him?"_

"I'm just not supposed to be here," Nappa said, changing the subject because it made him think about how much stronger Vegeta had been getting. "I've already _been_ trained. I should be on missions."

"I guess our situation's pretty unique," Raditz said. "Since they don't have a policy set up, I mean."

"Saiyans are the only race who completely work for Freeza," Vegeta said knowingly. "Most of the soldiers here left their home planets and applied out of choice. We were born into it." Some king long ago decided that the combination of money and fights was too good and signed the entire race up. "Ren's training is great, but I can't _wait_ to start going on missions."

Raditz looked at Vegeta curiously, then Nappa, who was nodding in agreement. "Really?"

Now it was Vegeta's turn to be puzzled. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I?"

"I just thought that, as our prince and all, you wouldn't be looking forward to getting ordered around. I mean, the way you talked to Lord Freeza! You won't be able to get away with that much longer."

"... It doesn't matter what you say as long as you do good work."

"You seriously think that? Sure, some of them pretend to be all easy-going, but they're really just playing with you. They aren't all like that doofy ramen guy you call a teacher."

"..." Vegeta stared at Raditz. Was he trying to give him advice or make him paranoid? "Now that I think about it..." Vegeta said thoughtfully, "... maybe you have a point."

Raditz had the gall to look hopeful. "Really?"

"Yeah. You should really be calling me 'Lord' Vegeta."

"But... but you're not even a soldier yet..."

Vegeta shoved Raditz to the ground. "I still outrank you! You're my subject _and_ I'm more than twice as strong as you. I _rule_ you."

Raditz, still on the ground, sniffled. "Yes, Lord Vegeta."

"So stop telling me what to do."

"Yes, Lord Vegeta."

"... Don't call me that. It's weird." _Because you haven't earned it,_ said a small, hateful voice. Vegeta noticed Nappa glaring at him. "What?"

"Stop being a brat."

"Nappa..."

"Give him a break, he's trying to look out for you. Say you're sorry and help him up."

Vegeta mouth dropped open in shock and he got angry, started to speak. But to Raditz's amazement he stopped, turned around, and obeyed Nappa. The mood was ruined and the three Saiyans went their separate ways for the rest of the day. As they were walking out the door well behind Nappa, Raditz heard something very quiet from Vegeta.

"That 5000 is gonna be good for five more years, tops."

*⁂*⁂*

The next day at lunch Vegeta was going to sit by himself but he had to go over when he saw Nappa lying face down on the table, his food untouched beside him. "What's wrong?" Vegeta asked, pulling up a chair.

"There's no more zota," Nappa mumbled with the pain of a thousand worlds.

"They must be waiting on another shipment because you drunk everything they had here."

"No. I asked. They said they've completely run out." Vegeta didn't reply. Now that he thought about it, no one was making more, so this day had to come eventually. He ate his lunch in silence while Nappa sulked.

"Eat something," Vegeta said after a while. "It's just for one more month then we'll start missions. Then you can look forward to something other than _sweet drinks."_ The two Saiyans ate in silence, both lost in thought.

"You want to train with Raditz before class starts?" Vegeta asked.

"Yeah, let's go."

*⁂*⁂*

"Let's stop here," Ren said, after the three of them had been jogging for about half an hour.

"Why here?" Vegeta asked, looking around. He had never been on this floor before. Normally, their noontime cool-down run stuck to the corridor that Ren's room was on.

"Since you two have been working so hard, I thought we'd take lunch early today. But the cafeteria is closed for another hour." Ren gave them each a steaming hot bowl of ramen. "At least it's a change of scenery."

"But it looks like... every other hallway..." Vegeta slurped, eating quickly. He was _starving._

"... Why does this ramen taste different?" Nappa asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I just put a few extra seasonings in," Ren said casually as the two Saiyans' faces reddened. "Like every kind of hot pepper we had on board."

" _Gah!_ " Vegeta started to cough uncontrollably, his bowl smashing on the ground. "What did you _do?!_ " He couldn't _stand_ spicy things. And right now, he just swallowed enough of the ramen to feel the burn all the way down his throat. His mouth was almost numb.

"These peppers are special, of course," Ren said, a bit more cheerful than he should have been. "Ordinary water will do nothing. You need to find some milk. The cafeteria's closed and you're in unfamiliar territory. How will you quench the heat?"

"Damn you, Ren," Nappa spat, sweat pouring down his face. He turned and ran to catch up with Vegeta, already halfway down the hall.

"Do you know where we are?" Vegeta demanded breathlessly. His head was pounding so loudly it was hard to even think straight.

"No, I just—need—water," Nappa gasped.

"He said... he just said water won't do anything! Milk!"

"You're right!" yelled Nappa. "—I think there's some in the kitchen near our room!"

" _Great,_ we just have to find out what floor—" They both smashed face-first into a wall, eyes too blurry to see it coming. "Stupid!" Vegeta screamed at it.

"It's the door to the stairs!" Nappa slammed against it and fumbled with the handle.

"Hurry, hurry!" Vegeta desperately pushed Nappa's back. "It's— _ugh_ —getting worse!"

"You think I don't know that?!" Nappa snapped. "Got it!" The two Saiyans fell headfirst into the stairwell, got up, and kept running.

"This is so stupid!" Vegeta shouted, eyes streaming with zest and laughter. "Out of the way!" The Saiyans crushed someone on the other side of the door in their panic to get through the home stretch.

Completely baffled, Zarbon watched Vegeta and Nappa sprint down the hall. What were they _doing_? Some kind of training exercise? One faint cry of "Never eating ramen again!" and they were gone.

Shaking his head, Zarbon made a mental note to have a word with Lord Freeza. No one in their right mind could call _this_ training.

*⁂*⁂*

Aliens in white robes, non-soldiers, never set foot in the training centers but the one with tufty white hair did so with relish. "We got Moongi!"

"What's a moongi?" yelled Vegeta from the back, over the cheers of everyone else in the room. He'd heard the word before, but he had no idea where.

"Have you been in space for the past year?" asked the alien beside him in disbelief. "Moongi's the planet that fifteen teams of soldiers in a row have died trying to process. But the location's so good that Lord Freeza won't give up."

"Oh yeah, I might have heard something about that. I was thinking about requesting that as my first mission," Vegeta said casually.

" _As if._ It must have been the Wei Force that did it, I thought I heard something about them being on the case..."

"The Wei Force?"

"You're joking," laughed the alien, turning away.

"Who's the Wei Force? Are they like the Freeza Force?" Vegeta said to Nappa.

"The Wei Force is the five strongest soldiers in the Freeza Force in one team. I don't know anybody who's ever seen them, they report directly to Lord Freeza."

"I wonder if I should bother fighting them before I challenge Lord Freeza, maybe as a warm up or something."

"A warm up," Nappa snorted. "Sure, you do that. Train for a hundred years and then give it a shot."

Vegeta frowned. _A hundred years?_ Maybe because there were five of them. He'd have to meet them once he was reporting directly to Lord Freeza himself. But if they invited him to join them he'd refuse.

*⁂*⁂*

At the end of the last day, Ren handed Vegeta and Nappa the now-familiar blindfolds. As Vegeta tied his over his eyes, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. This was how they were going to spend their last time with Ren? Sparring blind? They had done it so much that even _Nappa_ had mastered the skill.

"Wait!" Ren cried. "You're not supposed to fight this time."

The two Saiyans froze, Vegeta upside down with Nappa's huge hands around his waist, Nappa's head being forced back by Vegeta's feet under his chin. In the next moment, they were standing side-by-side, awaiting instructions.

"Hold out your hands," said Ren's voice. Something light and plastic dropped into Vegeta's hands. He pulled off his blindfold and saw that it was a packet of instant ramen. Confused, he looked to Nappa, who also had one.

"Congratulations," Ren said, bowing deeply. "You have both completed my training, even though Nappa was already a qualified soldier and Vegeta was in the middle of a different course. But thanks for putting up with me all the same." Ren smiled. "Nappa's begun to realize that strength isn't everything and Vegeta's grown a few inches. I'm proud of you both."

"Height doesn't matter," Vegeta lied, sick of hearing about it. "Especially not when I can do this." He floated up off the ground until he was at eye-level with Ren and Nappa.

"Good point." Ren laughed. "Anyway, I'm sure you're both raring to begin real missions so I thought I'd let the last day come and go quietly."

"But what's with the ramen?" Vegeta said. "Some sort of going away present?"

"Something like that. But don't eat it right away. Eating it fills you up for a few weeks, or days in your case. It'll be handy if you're on a long mission and food is harder to come by."

"Oh. Good." The next day, every trainee would get their power measured to make sure they had improved enough. If their power level hadn't gone up by at least 60 points, they failed. All the newly-minted soldiers attended an inauguration ceremony the day after. Vegeta left the room to get some sleep. Nappa started to follow but Ren stopped him.

" _What?_ " Nappa was more than a little annoyed. He just wanted to leave now that he had finally completed Ren's pathetic training. He was _so close_ to being back in the field...

"I know what you're thinking," Ren said. "But you need to let him do at least _some_ of the work. Don't hog all the strong fighters to yourself."

"What?" Nappa spluttered. "What's your deal with Vegeta? It's a good thing we finished when we did, otherwise I'd end up with a prince that was as much of a pushover as his teacher."

"I'm telling you this for your own sake, Nappa. It might not seem like it now, but someday that boy is going to be much stronger than you. I'm just saying it might not be a good idea to steal the thing that matters most to him. Or do you want to test how long he can hold a grudge?"

"What are you _talking_ about, old man? Vegeta doesn't care about fighting, he's never done it before. Besides," Nappa smiled wickedly, "he can't surpass me if he never gets the chance to fight." And with that, he stormed out of the room.

Ren sighed. There was no hope for that one. There never had been. Nappa's Saiyan pride had barely accepted being taught the basics again, even with the lure of returning to extermination campaigns. To be honest, Ren was surprised _Vegeta_ had tolerated the lessons, being a Saiyan prince. He was just so _young._ It was hard for even Ren to tell who he'd grow into. But he really wanted to find out.

The next day, Vegeta stood in a dim room. Eyes closed, he took his breaths slowly, one after the other. In the center of the room, an orb the size of a combatant's pod floated a few feet off the ground. The only light source was its crimson glow, giving the room an eerie, womb-like ambience.

With a last deep exhale, Vegeta opened his eyes and lifted both his hands up, framing the orb with his fingers. He didn't have a time limit, but it was better to keep the dawdling to a minimum. After all, other people were waiting their turn. Vegeta started to gather all his spare _chi_ into the palms of his hands—but no more than was needed. This wasn't a test to see if he could destroy the orb; he simply had to show how much energy he had dormant. Then they would be able to calculate his overall power level.

It took just a few seconds for Vegeta to summon his _chi._ He released the blast. The energy enveloped the orb, and a moment later seemed to get sucked inside. The wall to Vegeta's left lit up with flickering numbers. He crossed his arms and waited to see the fruits of his training with Ren.

Two minutes later, Vegeta was loitering outside the door to the testing room with Nappa, waiting for Raditz. It didn't take long for the middle Saiyan to finish.

"Well?" Vegeta asked lazily.

"Heh heh." Raditz smirked. "300 points. I got 70 points better, so I passed."

"Good for you." Vegeta leaned against the wall, looking bored. "And Nappa?"

"Tch. Just 100 points. If you ask me, training with Ren was a waste of time," Nappa said. That was one year he'd never get back.

"But your biggest weakness comes when you use your brain," Vegeta pointed out, "so wouldn't you say you became a better fighter overall?"

Nappa stared at Vegeta, not bothering to answer. What a _brat._

"What 'bout you, Vegeta?" Raditz asked. "What's your power level now?"

"Yeah, tell us. You haven't said a word since you came out," Nappa said. Maybe he hadn't improved enough to qualify. Nah... if that was true, he'd be in a worse mood for sure.

"1200," Vegeta said, smirking. He had suspected something like this, but it didn't make it any less sweet.

"Whoa... so that's..." Raditz counted on his fingers. "500 points! You gained more than half your strength in a year!" He had to work harder. True, Vegeta was _supposed_ to be the strongest, but this was too much. At least when they started missions, Raditz would have the advantage with his experience.

"Only one tedious ceremony to get through and then we can _finally_ start missions," Vegeta said, a starry look in his eyes.

"Yeah..." Nappa said wistfully. Raditz nodded slowly, as if in a dream.

The three Saiyans sleepwalked back to their rooms, fantasizing of the life of battle that awaited them.

*⁂*⁂*

"Lord Freeza? May I come in?"

"Of course, Mr. Zarbon. You know my door is always open." The tall blue alien with the elegant features stepped into the room. "You look a little tense. What's on your mind? Not bad news, I hope," Lord Freeza said with a light laugh, though his eyes were cold.

"No, Lord Freeza." Zarbon shook his head. Everyone knew that if you had bad news, you forced a lower-ranked officer to deliver it. It didn't happen every time, but the Master had a habit of shooting the messenger. "It's about Vegeta."

"Oh? Come to complain about him again?" Lord Freeza's eyes narrowed. "I must say, it's beginning to wear thin. He works under you, feel free to act as you see fit if he steps out of line."

"Actually, it has more to do with Ren," Zarbon said. Being a trainer, Ren was outside Zarbon's chain of command. He, like Zarbon, took his orders directly from Lord Freeza. "... I'm afraid I'm beginning to doubt his worth as a teacher."

"Doesn't Vegeta's score speak for itself? His growth is remarkable."

"... Yes it is," Zarbon admitted, "and I know you specifically made sure it was Ren who trained Vegeta. But... I don't know about his methods. I don't think he was injuring them _at all_. The things they did... it was almost like play."

"Good. Vegeta is only five years old now, he needs some time to play. Mr. Ren knows this. I have quite a bit of experience with young fighters. The ones that never had the chance to be children grow up to be mindless, slow to develop, and boring. But the other ones never lose the sense of play. They never stay in one place. They are the innovators—the true martial artists."

"But isn't that a bad thing?" Zarbon cut in. "We want soldiers, not martial artists."

"For the most part, yes. But we also need commanders. Besides, why would I bother sparing the Prince of All Saiyans if he was just going to turn out to be average? His potential makes it worth a little nurturing, at least at first. And the shock of reality here will teach him the most important lesson. 'Always be suspicious of clear skies...'"

Zarbon knew this one. "'...Because there will _always_ be a storm brewing on the horizon'."

"Which is why I don't want _you_ to go easy on him, Mr. Zarbon."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, sir."


	5. Animals

Chapter 5

Thirty young men stood proudly onstage in the long room. Each one wore a black set of ceremonial robes speckled with star-like dots of white. Included at the end of the line were the three Saiyans. Their group was too short and too tall, too young and too old, yet they were as happy as they were out of place.

As the venerable Director of Education gave his acceptance speech, Zarbon studied the new soldiers carefully. Most of them were smiling, though they were smiles saturated with exhaustion and relief. The calm, untroubled faces of Vegeta and Nappa looked naïve in comparison.

"Seems like your students had an easy time," Zarbon remarked to Ren. "Did you forget to prepare them for work?"

"I don't think my training has anything to do with what they're feeling now," Ren replied. "No, the others just don't truly flourish in battle as the Saiyans do. See Raditz—he's the same." Indeed, the middle Saiyan wasn't nearly as run-down as his classmates. "They aren't here for money or glory. They just want to fight." Ren smiled up at them. He admired the clear, uncomplicated Saiyan life.

Then he realized everyone was waiting for him to get on stage. "Oops!" Ren hurried up the stairs. "I didn't know we were starting with me!" There were jeers of laughter, but that was nothing Ren wasn't used to.

Each new soldier was presented with a token to the planet's armory. After the ceremony, they would all go down and pick out their battle clothes. The next day they would be shipped off to Planet Freeza 53, the designated planet for their group. It was there they would begin their duties.

"I still can't believe Lord Freeza let a _four_ _and_ _five_ _year old_ become soldiers," Zarbon said, grudgingly accepting at last.

"Not the first time it's happened," Ren said. "Besides, have you ever seen a child that young? These two aren't ordinary, that's for sure."

"That's right." Zarbon remembered his niece for the first time in years. The last time he had seen her, she had been Vegeta's age. Scrawny and awkward, she was more of a baby than a child. And her _mind_ —sometimes she understood, but generally she did not. She certainly couldn't hold a conversation without blurting out what she had for breakfast. "Why are those two so _advanced?_ "

"It's a Saiyan thing," Nappa said, coming up beside them. The ceremony was over; Vegeta and Raditz were off eyeing the tables of food. "Did you think we send our young off to conquer planets alone if they were anything like _yours?_ They can take care of themselves."

Ren was interested. "So they're just born smarter than normal?"

"That's part of it, but for the first thirteen years of our lives we Saiyans have perfect memories. That's why you never had to repeat any protocol with Vegeta. He remembers every word you said all year."

"Wow." Ren exhaled in disbelief. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It never came up."

"Of course they're more mature than normal," Zarbon sniffed. "Did you think Lord Freeza would ever let in a _four_ _and_ _five_ _year old_ on their own?"

"So you knew too, Zarbon?" Ren asked curiously.

"I might have heard it somewhere," Zarbon said, not remembering a thing. He quickly excused himself. Enough with the chit-chat, he had to get ready.

Ren turned to Nappa. "Oh, Nappa. I want to formally apologize for last night. It was condescending, especially since you know him best."

Nappa shook his head. "I _still_ don't completely understand him. He keeps changing." He considered. "Then again... I'm not the most understanding guy."

"Either way, I still think you should be careful. At this point he could turn into anything." Ren ducked his head. "Sorry! I'm doing it again. The point is, let's let go of that strained teacher/student thing. We're officially equals now." Ren stuck out his hand.

After a second, Nappa shook it. "Whatever. Thanks for taking care of Vegeta, I guess. Less work for me."

"Well, good luck with him," Ren said, walking off. "And enjoy the food!"

Seconds later, all three Saiyans grinned in delight at the lavish banquet laid out for them. Raditz hadn't had a good meal all year, and even Vegeta and Nappa hadn't had much more than ramen. They rushed the tables together, at least twice as happy as when they had gotten ordained. There was a few minutes of silence as they gorged themselves on roast chicken, salad, mashed potatoes, cheese and crackers, and much more.

All of a sudden, Nappa started crying.

Vegeta and Raditz immediately took a step away. Nappa's loud, gravelly sobs sounded like a large animal dying. _What was wrong with him?_ Vegeta wondered. Could it be... "Nappa, thanks for your sympathy, but just because I became a soldier doesn't mean—"

"... Idiot!" Nappa said, eyes red and shiny. "Who cares about you? I haven't... been able to go on missions... in _years_..."

So that was it. Vegeta nodded to himself as he finally understood Nappa's situation. He had always thought Nappa was just a grump who hated him and his whole family but now he saw the reason. Nappa had been trapped and rotting on Planet Vegeta because of his orders. It must have been _hell_. Guarding wasn't much better than sitting around and Nappa had always been more sedentary than was healthy for a Saiyan... and so had _Vegeta._ That must be why his father's power level had been so low.

It was good they became soldiers when they did. The both of them would do better—more Saiyan—at the front lines.

One satisfying meal later, the pack of new soldiers stumbled into the armory. Almost all of them reeked of alcohol, Nappa and Raditz included. Eyes drooping closed, they drunkenly paced in front of the racks of battle gear.

"Wuzzit look like?" Nappa slurred. "'M... 'm havin' trouble... focushing..."

Raditz squinted. "There's like... a buncha gloves... and those things you wear on y'r feet..."

"Boots," Vegeta said, not glancing away from his browsing.

"Yeah, boobs." Raditz giggled. "And some armor 'n' stuff."

"Oh yeah..." Nappa said. "Hey, whazz y'r power level again? Daikon, 'r whaddever y'r name is?"

Raditz giggled again. "Five hunnerd thousand! I'm a Super Saiyan!"

Vegeta widened his eyes at him. "How much've you had?"

"Ah... bottle?" Raditz smiled crookedly. "Why?"

"Well... because you're a kid, you're still growing..."

"So? Whass y'r point?" Raditz mumbled.

" _So_... your brain's probably all rotten by now."

"Why, you..." Raditz took a swing at Vegeta, who didn't even bother getting out of the way. Raditz missed, of course, and lost his balance.

"Say... 'Geta," Nappa cut in. "Why're _you_ still sober? Are ya some kinda... _lightweight?_ "

Vegeta looked up from the full-body battlesuit he was examining. "No. I just don't want to. It's good if _you_ get drunk though, because it's really funny."

"Hey guys!" Raditz said from the floor. "Whaddaya think of _this?_ " He held up a black thing that looked less like a pair of shorts and more like the bottom half of a leotard.

"It's great," Vegeta said. "You should customize it with a thigh band or something."

"Good idea!" Raditz sat up, beaming, then fell right back down. "Owww! My head!"

"You too, Nappa," Vegeta said, smirking. "Let's look like a team."

"So you're gettin' one too, 'Geta?" Nappa drawled.

"No, I think I'll go with this." Vegeta held up the bodysuit. It was a long-sleeved shirt and pants with feet, and had about five more yards of fabric than the leotard thing. "I am the prince, after all. Gotta look the part."

"Yeah, that's right," Nappa muttered. "I f'rgot."

After Vegeta almost killed himself laughing at Nappa and Raditz as they fought over the same leotard—

"It barely fits over one of your _wrists_! Why do you want it if it's the wrong size?"

"It stretches, idiot! It's the right size! You tryin'a rob me blind?!"

—Vegeta picked out white gloves, boots, and a battle jacket in his size. He laid them on the floor, no longer paying attention to what was going on around him. His heart was about to beat out of his chest. He crossed his arms tightly and set his jaw, eyes drilling holes in the armor in front of him.

 _He was a soldier now._ Looking at his first set of armor made Vegeta see that more than any ceremony ever could. With trembling hands, he changed into it right then and there. The jacket solidly locked over his chest. It fit perfectly. His days of why-would-one-size-fit-all sweatpants and loose training _gi_ were over. Vegeta pulled on the gloves and stuck his feet into the boots, the cloth brand-new and still stiff with sharp creases at the wrists and ankles.

Standing a little straighter, Vegeta turned to Raditz and Nappa. "When are you guys going to—"

Without thinking about it, Vegeta's fist shot out and struck the attacker in the face. It was a nameless soldier he only recognized from the hallways. He kept trying to land a hit on Vegeta, but the small Saiyan was powerful and the element of surprise was already gone.

"Why are you attacking me?!" Vegeta shouted, ducking and weaving his way around the stranger. Catching sight of Nappa and Raditz through his attacker's legs, Vegeta saw that they too had a man on them. But in their condition they weren't putting up nearly as good a fight as Vegeta. It looked like they didn't even know what was going on.

Well, that was the point, wasn't it? They _wanted_ all the new soldiers drunk and helpless for this... it must be some sort of initiation.

Then Vegeta wouldn't hold back.

He went on the offensive and beat his opponent, but just as the nameless man lost consciousness five more enemies came out of the shadows. Each of them as strong as the first one, but Vegeta's armor focused his energy in a special way and he held them all back. He executed every punch and maneuver flawlessly for his first fight. (Did this count?)

"Oh, get out of the way!" It was Zarbon's turn to materialize. " _I'll_ take care of him." As soon as Vegeta caught sight of Freeza's strongest lackey, he turned tail and sprinted away as quickly as he could. But suddenly Zarbon was _in front_ of him and then he was grabbing Vegeta by the hair and then he was beating the Saiyan, over and over, not stopping until long after Vegeta had blacked out.

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta woke up on a cot in a room that was even smaller and more bare-bones than what he was used to. Wincing, he sat up and tried to think of what happened. The party... had he had too much to drink? No, he hadn't touched a drop... so then what was this nasty headache?

Remembering, Vegeta fell back on the bed with a groan. "That jerk, Zarbon..." He buried his face in the pillow. So that wasn't some babyish initiation prank pulled by a few low-ranked officers. The top brass were in on it too. Was it... protocol?

Either way, Vegeta was alone and in nothing but his underclothes in an unfamiliar place. Looking out the window, he saw mile after mile of landing pads, dirty grey training complexes, and a black control building every once in a while. A thrill of excitement skipped up and down Vegeta's spine, his rough beginning as a soldier long forgotten. They must have healed him in the infirmary and look, his new armor was right there in the corner. All was well.

After quickly getting dressed, Vegeta marched out the room. He didn't know if he was supposed to report to anyone, which was fine by him. First, he'd find something to eat and then see if he could—

"AAAIIIEEeeEE!" Ten feet down the hall a small alien burst out of a door screaming at the top of his lungs. "I've been _abducted!_ They took my memory and my friends and my clothes! _Where am I?!_ "

It took Vegeta almost five seconds to realize that the shrieking monstrosity was, in fact, Raditz. In his underwear. _Oh, no_. Vegeta covered his face and turned to leave, but it was too late.

"Vegetaaaaa...!" Raditz sobbed, almost knocking the younger Saiyan over as he clung to the back of his armor. "I'm _so_ glad you're here! Where are we?"

"Where do you think?" Vegeta snapped, shoving the distressed Raditz off. "We're starting work today on Planet 53 and _you_ ," he jabbed Raditz in the chest, "are making the Saiyans look bad. Pull yourself together!"

"We're here... to work?" sniffled Raditz. "Then how come those men came and hurt us before?"

"I'm surprised you remembered that, you were so plastered," Vegeta said, amused. "Didn't you see _Zarbon?_ It was stupid. Just something they do to all the new soldiers." He remembered Raditz's warning in the training room. Well, well. Look who was adjusting just fine and who was turning into a scared baby. "Just put your clothes on. Then we'll find Nappa and see what missions they have for us."

"But that's just it," Raditz said, eyes wide. "They took my clothes! I don't have anything."

Vegeta fixed Raditz with a cold look, grabbed him by the arm, and marched him back to his room. He pointed to the corner where Raditz's armor lay in a pile.

Blushing, Raditz ran to get it and Vegeta stood impatiently while the older Saiyan got dressed. Was Vegeta really supposed to hold Raditz's hand like this? Or was there just a fine line between "ruler" and "surrogate parent"?

Just as they were ready to go, Nappa stumbled into the doorway. Amazingly, he looked his usual self, tired and grumpy. The healing tanks must fix hangovers, too.

"How was the welcome committee?" Vegeta asked, smirking.

"I've had better." Nappa frowned. "Where's food? My stomach feels like it's sticking to my spine."

After wandering around for a few minutes, the Saiyans finally found the cafeteria. It was just their luck that the food was even worse than what they were used to. At least back on Planet Freeza 61 the formless mush was more than one shade of brown.

"Do either of you even know what this is?" Vegeta asked, gingerly lifting a piece in his spoon.

"Whatever it is, it was made in a lab," Nappa said. "They probably gave it all the nutrients and none of the flavor."

Vegeta's spoonful fell back on the heap with a wet _splat_. "It doesn't matter. Once we've done a few missions we'll have enough Uni to buy all the food we want."

"Are you guys new recruits?" a soldier asked, noticing them.

"Yeah. What's it to you?" Vegeta challenged. He'd had more than his fill of "welcomes" in this place.

"You're supposed to have already reported to Lord Qaarst!" the soldier hissed. He hurried away, shaking his head and muttering to himself. The three Saiyans looked at each other.

"Maybe we were the only ones they beat up," Nappa said.

"Or maybe we were the only ones who put food ahead of our orders," Vegeta said.

"Maybe we'll get in trouble unless we go there _right now_ ," Raditz fretted.

The Saiyans stood up and went off to find this "Qaarst". It turned out to be easy, since he was in charge of the place. They found out his building was on the other side of the planet, which wasn't a big deal because 53 was _tiny_. They took a sideways elevator the whole way there.

An hour later, they were being told to enter the faceless commander's office. Nappa went first, followed by Raditz, and then Vegeta. The room, though large, was almost as bare as their new bedrooms. There was only a filing cabinet, a desk, and a chair, turned away from them.

"You three haven't made the best impression here." The voice came from the chair. "First you sleep in, and then you go straight to the cafeteria. Your colleagues have all come and gone by now."

"If you wanted all that from us, you should have made a list," Vegeta said, stepping out from behind Nappa's legs. "We woke up to nothing. What were we supposed to do?"

The chair started to swivel around. "In case you weren't aware—" The man named Qaarst cut himself off as he caught sight of Vegeta and Raditz. "You're _children!_ "

"You're three feet tall!" The mysterious Qaarst was barely taller than Vegeta, though at least twice as wide. Other than that, he looked like a typical army type. His hair was spiky and cut short and there wasn't a single wrinkle in his clothes.

"Height doesn't matter," Qaarst said gruffly. "But _age_ does. I can't believe Lord Zarbon let you come here. I'm calling him right now."

"Both of us are fully qualified soldiers," Raditz said. "Don't bother calling him, we completed all the training!"

Qaarst ignored him and pulled out his comm. After a minute of muttered conversation, he shut it off angrily. " _Apparently,_ they both work for Lord Freeza," he told Nappa, as if Vegeta and Raditz were either deaf, dumb, or not present. "But I don't like it. I'm putting you in charge of them. They go on your missions, and when they mess up it's on you." He turned and rummaged through the file cabinet. "Take this one," he said, shoving a folder into Nappa's hands. "It's nice and easy."

"But that's stupid!" Vegeta burst out. "My power level's 1200, I'm not doing any watered-down, 'nice and easy' joke of a mission!"

Qaarst didn't even look in his direction. "Here on 53, you don't talk back. I don't care what your power level is, you're still just a kid. Now get out." Fuming, Vegeta opened his mouth but Nappa dragged him and Raditz away before he could say a word.

"Do you know who that was?" Nappa said under his breath once they were out of earshot.

"Quartz, commander of the hypocrites," Vegeta said, rolling his eyes. "Is he strong? I don't even care. I've _never_ met such a—"

"That was 'Iron-Blood' Qaarst. Power level 12,000. He's not fast, but he can stand up to any attack and a few years ago he took down Zarbon with one punch."

" _Really_?" Raditz asked in disbelief. "Why is he slumming it at the bottom of the chain?"

"His power level hasn't changed one point in years," Nappa said. "He's like a rock."

"Okay, fine, he's strong," Vegeta said. "Let's just see the mission now."

The planet was dubbed "1527ZJ", since it wasn't inhabited by any intelligent species. It was on the small side and relatively close. It would take two months to fly there and back. Satellite images had picked up large white blobs moving across the planet's black desert surface, the planet's inhabitants. It was easy to see them against the black sand and it didn't look like they burrowed. Nice and easy indeed.

With a sigh, Vegeta went with Nappa and Raditz to requisition their space pods. Maybe there was something waiting in the mission that would interest or challenge him, but this looked like a waste of time. All he could do was exterminate the white things so quickly that Qaarst saw that Vegeta wasn't green. But he was green. But he should be getting better missions.

Once they had each selected a round combatant ship and registered it to their name, the Saiyans were ready to go. Vegeta had heard complaints of how small and cramped the ships were, but his feet didn't even touch the floor. They dangled like a baby in a high chair. Trying to ignore his bad mood, he programmed in the co-ordinates listed in the briefing and set the _sleep_ timer to one month.

 _"Well kids, this is it,"_ Nappa's voice crackled from the speaker. There was a strange tightness to his speech... he sounded really excited.

As the pod blasted away into space, Vegeta settled down to _sleep_.

It was just like blinking. But when he opened his eyes, the muscles in his legs, back and shoulders were tight and numb... his stomach was full... and there was a planet in front of him. It should have been invisible against the space backdrop, but it was a different shade of black. Sparkly, in a way... but only if you weren't looking directly at it.

Vegeta pressed his face against the glass and saw two round pods flanking his own. "Rise and shine, comrades." He felt happy despite himself. His first time floating over the clueless planet he was about to invade and he already loved it.

There were some thumps and bumps over Raditz's comm and then just muffled whimpering. Vegeta had to grin. Was he...?

 _"You didn't,"_ Nappa said, disbelieving.

"Nappa, I think he did," Vegeta said.

 _"I went to sleep cross-legged..."_ Raditz's voice was barely over a whisper.

 _"Did anyone ever tell you about the position? Both of your feet have to be on the floor,"_ Nappa growled.

 _"Yeah... I just forgot."_

Vegeta was on the floor of his pod then, shaking with laughter. Not even a perfect memory was enough to stop Raditz from being an idiot!

 _"Let's just go down,"_ Nappa said forcefully. _"We've wasted enough time already."_

 _"But it feels like the bones in my legs are gone,"_ Raditz whined.

 _"You'll be fine once you walk around. Now go."_

Vegeta reached up and pushed the _land_ button. Then he curled back into a ball, waiting for the smile to go away. It didn't.

Perfectly synced, the three pods dropped out of space to the planet below. A quick and smooth moment of free fall, then an impact strong enough to damage anyone with a power level under 100.

Getting out of his ship, Vegeta put his hands on his hips and surveyed the area. The heat from the Saiyans' landing had fused the sand around them to chunks of black glass. Nappa and Raditz joined him and the three Saiyans flew off searching for something to kill. So far there had been no trace of the white creatures, but that just gave them the pleasure of the hunt.

After a few minutes of flying, they started to hear a sound off in the distance. The pitch was deep, so much that at first it only tickled the Saiyans' ears, but they noticed it just before they smelled the skin and sweat of living things.

"We got them," Nappa said as the horizon dotted itself with white lumps. And the sound became clear: a call made by many animals.

 _Koaaaaa._

 _Koaaaaaaaaaaa._

They were grazers. Nothing special, just animals whose only purpose was to lick up sand with their wide tongues and excrete it once they were done.

"Don't have a cow, man," Raditz snickered.

"Nobody says that anymore," Vegeta murmured, watching the grazers slowly move across the sand. Nappa said nothing, already gone to get started. "Well, well. Someone's chomping at the bit."

"Yeah. It doesn't seem like he cares about fighting actual warriors."

"These things are close enough for him," said Vegeta. "His standards weren't that high in the first place." Raditz stared at him blankly.

"Because he's not that smart," Vegeta clarified.

"Oh!" Raditz exclaimed. Then he frowned. "Wait, I thought _I_ was the stupid one."

"No, he's the idiot. You're the fool."

"Then what are you?"

"The prince." Duh. He had no shortcomings.

"Okay, cool. Hey, Nappa's really cutting loose on those 'koa' things," Raditz said, looking off into the distance.

"What?" Vegeta's gaze turned to the far away carnage. "Hey, they're almost half gone! Save some for us, moron!" He took off.

"Aw man, that looks fun." Raditz was close behind. "Is he really fighting one with five others sitting on his legs like that?" He gasped. "Watch out! Even Nappa can't get away if all ten of them charge him at once!"

By the time the kid Saiyans arrived, there was already a sizable pile of bodies. Each one was at least twice as big as Nappa. It _did_ look like fun.

"Raditz, you take the ones that are trying to run away." Vegeta pointing to the stampeding pack of blobs, each one bleating frantically. (" _Ko_ — _ko_ — _koaaa!")_ "Nappa and me'll clean up the rest." He got ready to jump a straggler.

"Nope!" Nappa punched Vegeta out of the air. "You're not doing anything. Just sit there and wait for me to finish." Vegeta slammed into the ground and skidded about ten feet through the black sand.

 _"What are you_ —" Vegeta started to say, then cut himself off with a coughing fit as the dust sprinkled down his throat. And as he saw the animal look in Nappa's eyes. As Nappa flew off to deal with Raditz in a similar fashion, Vegeta bent on all fours and spasmed as he tried to cough the sand out of his lungs. Even after he finished, he could only roll onto his back in exhaustion. His throat was ragged... his shoulder throbbed from Nappa's attack...

It was a while before Vegeta could process what had actually happened. Nappa had actually _attacked him_. He was a traitor. But _why?_ Was it something he said? He remembered the strange expression on Nappa's face. It had been desperate... ravenous... primitive... more Saiyan, pure Saiyan, than anything Vegeta had ever seen. Was this what Nappa was really like?

Vegeta understood and sat up. The chance for a real fight, even one as casual as this, had finally woken up Nappa's Saiyan hunger. And he'd never be satisfied. _Drinking salt-blood does nothing for thirst,_ as they say.

In a trance, Vegeta made his way back to the pods. There was no point trying to get any action; Nappa would just fend him off again. And Vegeta couldn't win against him right now.

He almost _admired_ this new Nappa, for all his fury, but it didn't erase him raising a hand against the prince of his race. Unforgivable. But there was no way to keep him in line.

Vegeta's heart pounded as he finally saw reality. It didn't matter how strong he was for his age, the fact was that he was 200 points above average. That was all. There were many, too many, who were stronger. He had wanted to keep a low profile until he got good enough... but how could he do that if Nappa was taking all the work for himself?

Suddenly, Vegeta felt sick.


	6. Murderer at Six

Chapter 6

Vegeta dragged himself out of his space pod. All he really wanted to do was slouch to the ground of the landing pad, but such behavior wasn't right for a _prince_. If he couldn't fight like one, he could at least act like one.

He'd counted on the mission to at least give him a chance to stretch his legs after the months of _sleep,_ but it hadn't worked out that way. He had just waited by the ships with Raditz, watching Nappa have his fun. He was in shock. He was still in shock.

It was a nighttime landing. 53 was even more dead in the night than 63. Vegeta would probably wake the whole planet if he breathed too loud. He took a wrong turn somewhere, got separated from Nappa and Raditz, and did a double take as he walked past Goji Minko sitting with a small group of aliens in a lamp-lit room. It was as if he'd taken that wrong turn right into the past.

"G—Goji?" Vegeta stammered, standing in the open door frame. "What're you doing here?"

Goji looked at him blankly. "I'm not Goji," he said. His alien friends were equally confused. Then he slapped his forehead. " _Oh!_ You mean Goji! He's my brother. I'm Huckle Minko."

"You look exactly the same," said Vegeta. Right down to the blue and purple strings.

"If you know Goji then you know the storygroup! Why don'tcha join us?"

The alien next to Huckle who had been speaking before glared as Vegeta took a seat, then sullenly picked up where he left off. "And then it bit off my leg and dragged me through the woods for two days until it decided to sink its giant fangs in and rip out my heart." The alien winced and clutched his chest as if he was reliving some forgotten trauma.

"I'm sorry, buddy, that sounds rough," said Huckle, voice strained. Sounded like he was trying not to laugh more than he was being sympathetic.

"That sounds like something that just happened on a mission. Where's the concept?" Vegeta asked, disappointed when he found the snack bowls already empty. The alien's face screwed up and he ran out of the room. Vegeta was informed that his girlfriend had just broken up with him earlier that day.

Then Huckle turned it on him. "What do you got? It better be conceptual enough, after that." He refilled the snacks for Vegeta.

Vegeta took a breath, not interested in food anymore. "Okay. That guy who just ran out, what's his name? Dan Cho? Okay. When Dan Cho was in the woods with his heart just torn out, he was lucky 'cause his best friend was with him. His friend scared the beast away, but when he came back and found Dan bleeding out on the ground he knew he didn't have long.

"'I'll help you!' he cried. 'Whatever it is, I'll do it! Dan, I'm gonna save your life! What do you need?'

"' _A heart,'_ said Dan. But his friend didn't like that. The monster had run off with Dan's heart, and his friend's was the only one around. So he sewed up Dan's chest with nothing in it and left him to die. He didn't last ten seconds."

"What's that one about?" asked Huckle.

"I just got back from a mission," said Vegeta, yawning and getting up. "Ask me next time. I'll come back when I can."

The next day, after a good sleep at least, Vegeta sat through a tasteless meal, stood outside the door with Raditz while Nappa spoke to Qaarst, and suddenly found himself back in his ship. Were they going on another mission already? The _sleep_ timer was even set. Had he done that?

Too late, Vegeta found his consciousness being pulled away by the ship's computer. Right before his eyes closed, his fighting spirit broke through the haze of defeat for the first time. And as he fell asleep, Vegeta knew what he had to do if Nappa kept defying him. He would have fight for his Saiyan birthright, fight to the death if it came to that.

The planet, Vegeta later found out, was called "Traala". Though the tech level was low, it had villages with sentient beings who spoke Tamagonian, a simple variation of one of the common root languages. And when intelligent creatures started living in groups, warriors formed.

As Nappa told them all this, Vegeta's Saiyan heart ached. He _still_ hadn't been in a real fight yet, hadn't even killed. Surely Nappa would let them work _now_. Vegeta would give him the sand beasts as a warm-up if that was what Nappa needed.

After noting the purple skies and jungle landscape, Nappa turned to Vegeta and Raditz. "OK. You two know what this is?" He tapped a knee-high block of technology that he brought all the way from Planet Freeza 53.

"Sure, that's a scouter," Raditz said. "It picks up _chi_ and tells you where every living thing is on the entire planet."

Vegeta nodded his agreement. It was different version of the machine they used to assess power levels back on Planet Freeza 61. It was portable but couldn't read battle strengths. Oh well. With their combined forces, there was little chance of the Saiyans running into trouble.

Nappa picked it up and set it down in the middle of their three pods. "It stays here. We can't risk bringing it with us, it might get damaged." Vegeta perked up. It sounded like they were going to fight. The possibility was almost enough to take the sting out of Nappa's authoritative words. Almost. Even though Vegeta wasn't as old or strong, he still outranked Nappa. It was _humiliating._ "I'm not going to babysit you two," Nappa said. Vegeta's hopes floated even higher. Yes, yes... he liked where this was going... "You know how to read the scouter, find the villages yourself. But when you come across anyone who looks like they wanna put up a fight, call me. Don't even think about taking them for yourself, I'll know."

" _WHAT?!_ " Vegeta screamed but Nappa was already gone. What the hell kind of plan was _that?_ Killing civilians was just a waste of time. The _real_ reason the Saiyans bothered working for Lord Freeza at all was the chance to fight. Everyone knew that! So was Nappa being an idiot or an asshole?

"Um, Vegeta?" Raditz asked quietly. "Can I stay with you?"

"You sound like a baby. I thought you were already going on missions before all this."

"Yeah, but I was never by myself..."

Why did Raditz look so sad all of a sudden? Because he was scared of being alone? Because he knew Vegeta thought he was weak? Because he wanted to fight, too? All three?Bizarrely, Vegeta found himself warming to the low-class Saiyan. Raditz was going through the same thing as him. "Okay." Raditz's entire everything lit up, enough to make Vegeta regret accepting. "Just stop looking so _happy_ ," he grumbled. "Doesn't it matter to you that Nappa's taking all the good stuff for himself?"

"Of course it does," Raditz said gleefully. "But I get to fight with you, the prince! All my friends would be so jealous... if they were still alive."

Vegeta could deal with that. "Fine, let's go. We can find a way to spice things up. Maybe see who can kill the most women and children." After a quick consultation with the scouter, the young Saiyans set off for the nearest village. Looks like there were a hundred or so people living there.

Soon enough, they were floating over the huts, watching the green-coated people go about their day. The actual act of exterminating a whole village struck Vegeta for the first time. "Raditz... what do you usually _do_? Do you make some sort of 'We have come for your planet' speech or just start blasting them?"

"I couldn't blast before," Raditz said. "... But I'm going to just blow everything up now. My stomach isn't very strong today."

Vegeta could picture the sensitive Raditz not wanting to be confronted with people begging him for their lives. "Let's do it."

Vegeta and Raditz drew back their arms to start charging energy attacks. As the light from their palms grew bright, a few of the villagers looked up and noticed them. There wasn't time for anything but confusion before the twin beams—Vegeta's purple one and Raditz's dimmer blue one—struck the ground and exploded on contact. There was a deep crash as even more blinding light flared and a mushroom cloud of dust bloomed up from the wreckage. The Saiyans waited for it to clear before dropping down.

"That did it, alright," Vegeta said, glancing over the smoldering ruins. "Looks like there aren't any survivors."

"Oh, shoot! We should've checked for strong guys. I hope Nappa doesn't find out..."

"I don't think anyone worthwhile would have died with that. But we should still process them by hand from now on. If you can handle it," Vegeta teased. He couldn't care less about Nappa's insane command, but destroying the village with _chi_ blasts wasn't proper combat. Attacking from 50 feet away had too much of the coward factor. He _still_ hadn't had his first fight. And the victims should at least know who killed them.

"I can handle it!" Raditz said defensively. "Can _you?_ "

"We'll find out, won't we?" Vegeta smirked. "But if it's too much for you, bail. That's normal at your age."

Raditz frowned. Sometimes Vegeta was really cool, but sometimes he was kind of a jerk. Raditz would show him what he was made of. "Same to you." They took off again in search of the next village.

As they were flying, Raditz gathered his courage. "Vegeta..."

"What?" Vegeta's spirits had been lifted even by that petty attack, but he was quickly sinking back into depression. He hoped Raditz knew where they were going, because he sure wasn't paying attention.

Raditz took a deep breath. "I know you don't want to tell Nappa if you find any fighters, but can you let me?"

"... Why would I?" Vegeta said the words without thinking, in too much of a fog to know exactly what either of them were talking about. Was Raditz telling him to kill the strong people instead of letting Nappa? Hey... that was a good idea...

"Well... Nappa's already giving us more to do than before. Maybe if we just hold on and do what he says for a little while longer, he'll let us fight for real."

Vegeta shook his head, Raditz's words finally sinking in. "What? No. Of _course_ we aren't telling him, are you crazy? It's not our fault that he's dumb enough to let us off on our own. We're just... taking initiative, that's all."

"But... but he said he'll..." Raditz stumbled. He needed to put this in Vegeta's terms. "Um... if Nappa's the only one doing the fighting, chances are he'll run into someone _really_ strong. Wouldn't it be... uh... _hilarious_... if he had to ask us for help? After ordering us not to fight?"

"Heh..." Vegeta couldn't help but smile. "You're right, it would be. Okay. I won't step in for now. But if by the end of this mission he still hasn't given us anything worth doing, you're _both_ in trouble."

"Oh, I'm sure he will!" Raditz said enthusiastically. Vegeta listened to what he had to say! They were well on their way to becoming best buds. "Hey, there's the next town!"

This time, the two dropped straight out of the sky and landed on the shoulders of a stone statue. It gave a good view of the entire village... it seemed they touched down in the center square.

 **"Everyone, gather in front of me!"** Vegeta yelled in Tamagonian, while Raditz created a drum roll on the statue's head. The villagers looked at one another in bewilderment, but intrigue of the two small aliens soon won out and they did as they were told.

 **"Who are you?"** An old man stepped to the front of the pack. **"Where are your parents?"**

Raditz got one look at Vegeta's face and hurried to speak first. **"That doesn't matter.** Um, **can you bring out your three strongest fighters, please?"**

Vegeta gaped at him as the crowd murmured. "'Please'? Why bother to be polite if we're just going to kill them? They don't deserve it."

"Sshhh! Not so loud," Raditz hissed. "People cooperate ten times better when they aren't scared."

"Threaten to kill some of them and they'll cooperate just fine."

"They won't believe a few kids without a demonstration."

"Okay, so how many does that mean I should kill first?"

"That's not what I—Just hold on and trust me. It's less work for us this way."

 **"Strangers?"** The old man spoke again. " **Our prefecture has but one fine warrior."** A sturdy, darker green one came forward. **"He is called Ja. What is your business with him?"**

 **"A quest, perhaps?"** Ja said in a slow, deep voice. **"My services as an adventurer have been sought out before."**

 **"What power level are you?"** Vegeta asked. He wasn't too sure how to say it, but he thought he was close enough.

 **"My level of power?"** Ja's head wobbled in confusion. **"What could you be talking of, young child?"**

No contact with the sentient galaxy meant no understanding of battle strength. Right. **"Allow me to rephrase,"** Vegeta said. One more try before he lost patience. **"Suppose you were building a chi blast. How much of your world would be gone or damaged when you released it?"**

Ja obviously understood that question less than the first.

 **"How hard can you punch?"** Raditz asked.

Ja's eyes lit up. **"Ah! Elder Kala, may I?"** He gestured to the jungle. The old man nodded. **"I will show you. Follow my actions with your eyes."** In one leap, Ja was on the outskirts of town. His back to them, he stuck his arms behind him, took a breath, and thrust them forward.

The shockwave toppled all the trees in front of Ja for about fifty feet. Raditz looked to Vegeta. "Well?"

"Looks like he's good enough."

"Then can you keep him under control until Nappa gets here?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "You think I can't? He can't even _fly_."

"Alright, I'll call Nappa. But first..." Raditz jumped from the statue to the ground. **"Ja, was it? Please come back to everybody."** Once all the locals were clustered together Raditz addressed them once again. **"Thank you for being so helpful. My name is Raditz and that's Vegeta. We are both emissaries of Lord Freeza who has taken an interest in your world. Once you are all gone we will sell it to others. If you could please die with as little screaming as you can, our eardrums will send their thanks to your residence in hell."**

There was a ghostly moment of silence. In that pause, Vegeta swooped down and snatched Ja off the ground.

Then panic.

Vegeta watched the whole thing from high up in the air. Since his hands were full, it was up to Raditz to finish everyone else off. He did a surprisingly good job and for the first time Vegeta could see the older Saiyan's experience. He might not be strong but he knew his basics: don't leave too much of a mess and don't let any get away. He had a good awareness of his surroundings.

At first Ja tried as hard as he could to escape but he couldn't move with Vegeta holding him up by his wrists. Then came the curses and obscenities. When that got no reaction, he was reduced to begging. And finally, Ja just hung still with his eyes tightly shut, trying to block out the noise.

Vegeta had checked out a long time ago. So far, his career under Lord Freeza had been less "valiant warrior" and more "reluctant executioner". Next time, he'd get Raditz to hand everything over to him. There was a faster way to do this, or at least one with less talking.

Long after Raditz was finished, Nappa arrived. Vegeta thought it would kill him to hand the strong one over. Instead, he felt nothing. "Here," he said, pushing Ja towards Nappa. "Have fun." He left before Nappa had the chance to discover that Ja was in no shape to fight anything.

Once Raditz had caught up and they were on course again, Vegeta got an idea.

"I don't think we did that good a job," Raditz said, looking over his shoulder. "Nappa seemed really—"

"Leave this to me," Vegeta interrupted. "I know what to do."

Minutes later, Vegeta stretched his right arm above him as he hovered over the next settlement. Energy zapped up his arm and gathered in his hand, tinted the deep crimson of blood. In seconds, an orb at least twice the size of him was floating just above his outstretched fingers.

He threw it to the sky and it burst, jagged lightning bolts of red streaking angrily against the soft purple sky. _**"Listen up!"**_ Vegeta barked at the top of his lungs. _**"Get your strongest fighters out here in ten seconds or we'll blast this place to dust!"**_

Vegeta's aggressive strategy worked wonders, and soon the Saiyans had processed more than ten villages. Then came the hard part. Most of the locals had finally gotten wind of the three invaders and had evacuated into the jungle. At that point, the mission turned into a sort of free-for-all, with each Saiyan hunting for himself. The scouter got a lot of use as Vegeta, Nappa and Raditz checked it periodically for updates.

Without Nappa holding him back, battle-starved Vegeta should have been having the time of his life. Too bad _none of the locals were worth anything._ For the first time he was jealous of Raditz, who was weak enough to be getting into some decent scrimmages. Vegeta, on the other hand, was doing nothing but mindless killing. For days he tore through family after family, spilled gallons of blood, broke whole skeletons of bones. When he closed his eyes he saw faces warped with terror. Any ebb in his thoughts was filled with the echoing screams of the damned. He had heard enough last words to write a book of them and with his perfect memory, he actually could.

Being Saiyan, Vegeta was born with no reservations about death. But to kill so many... to kill without rest for days... all before he'd gotten _one,_ just _one single fight..._ it was _so_ _pointless_. It made Vegeta tired, the kind of tired that was still there when he woke up. It didn't get worse than this.

Ten days after the Saiyans had landed on Traala. "We're just about done," Nappa said, not bothering to thank either of them for their hard work. "I'm going to track down the stragglers. You two, go on treatment duty."

Vegeta sneaked a look at the scouter. Other than a few spread-out dots, there was a far-away cluster of twenty or thirty people. "Off to take care of that group?" His eyes narrowed. "If they've managed to survive this long, they could have some sort of secret weapon."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Nappa said. "I'll tell you about it when I get back."

"No, I'm coming with you." Vegeta knew this was it. If Nappa didn't let him along...

"What you're doing is cleaning up the bodies with Raditz," Nappa said firmly. "Remember? I fight the warriors. Nobody else."

"You're not taking this whole planet for yourself," Vegeta said, adrenaline starting to fire him up.

Nappa turned to leave. "Just watch me." In two steps, Vegeta launched himself at Nappa's exposed back. It was like running headfirst into a brick wall. The rebound threw him to the floor, but that wasn't enough to take Vegeta down and he jumped up to attack again.

As he went for the place Nappa used to be, a hand closed around his tail. The entire world bent and swayed around Vegeta and he fell over. His tail was numb and prickles danced across his skin. He tried to speak but his tongue felt limp and unresponsive. His eyes rolled under drooping eyelids.

Raditz watched as Nappa dragged the helpless Vegeta over to the space pods. He wanted to rescue him, but what could he do? Besides, Vegeta was the one who had attacked without warning and it didn't look like Nappa was going to hurt him.

Nappa kept a foot on Vegeta's tail as he picked up a ship. "I just don't... understand... why you're being... so... selfish..." Vegeta mumbled through the haze.

Nappa looked down at the tiny Saiyan who's anger had finally burned away. "You don't get it, kid. I know you'd do the same thing if you were in my shoes. Any Saiyan would."

As Nappa set the ship down on Vegeta's tail, Vegeta managed to shake his head. "Nuh-uh... I would... never... steal... another Saiyan's... only purpose..." His eyes closed as Nappa floated away.

Once he was out of sight, Raditz ran over and pushed the ship off Vegeta. "What's with him?" Raditz muttered. "He's starting to get on my nerves!"

But even as Raditz's anger finally came, Vegeta's was nowhere to be found. "It doesn't matter that he gets to finish them off. I was hoping he'd fight me. Dammit."

"Um... you aren't going to do anything to me, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Vegeta asked, worn-out.

"'Cuz you said you'd blame me if Nappa doesn't let us do anything."

"Oh, that. That doesn't matter either." Vegeta slumped against the pod and sighed. "Guess we'd better get started." It would take weeks to hunt down all the bodies and turn them to ash.

"How long will the trip back be?" Vegeta asked Raditz once they were in the air. He had been so out of it on the way there that he didn't notice how long he had been in stasis for.

"Five months."

 _Five_ _months._ That was ten months to Traala and back. Adding the time it was taking to process the planet, and there went an entire year down the drain. The innocent Traalans weren't the only ones whose lives were wasted.

"..." Suddenly Vegeta wasn't so numb. But this time, instead of anger, there was a panicky feeling inside him. Like his heart was trying to escape. "Raditz, let's kill Nappa."

Raditz was shocked. "Wh—what? Vegeta! We can't! Did you hear what Qaarst said? Without Nappa, we're nothing to him. Besides, that'd be cutting the Saiyan race by a third. None of us can die."

"Yeah, you're right," Vegeta said. It was just as well. Raditz's 300 points would barely make a difference, and Vegeta most definitely would lose on his own. And an actual attempt to get rid of Nappa would end in more than just a little tail-pulling.

The only thing to do was to wait and see what happened. Traala was drained by now, but what about the next planet? No matter what Nappa said, it would be easy for Vegeta to disappear for a few days and there was bound to be _someone_ strong out there.

So Vegeta gritted his teeth and vaporized the bodies like a good little Saiyan. Something better was going to come his way. He literally had half the galaxy at his fingertips.

He was counting on fate to step in, but he didn't know that his fighting spirit was too weak to come up with a solution even if he wanted it to.

*⁂*⁂*

Six months later, the Saiyans got out of their ships to a warm greeting...

"Go see Lord Qaarst immediately and don't dawdle," said the receiving officer.

"Nice to see you too," Vegeta muttered as he walked past. He wasn't in the best mood.

It turned out that one of the other soldiers had stepped in some alien slime on a mission, brought it back on the bottom of his shoe, and now it was on the loose.

"So is it toxic? Parasitic?" Vegeta asked. Such a small thing wouldn't be trouble otherwise.

"No..." Qaarst's normally clean-shaven face had days of stubble and his hair was flat. He was so tired that he actually listened to Vegeta. "It's perfectly harmless. But it must be sentient, because as soon as the soldier got off his ship it grew 20 feet."

"Whoa! It must be faster than all of us!" Raditz said with wide eyes. Vegeta smacked him.

"He means it got bigger," he said through gritted teeth. Normally Raditz's cluelessness would make Vegeta laugh and Nappa roll his eyes, but right now they couldn't afford it. Qaarst had to take them seriously.

"So we have to stop it?" Nappa said, cracking his knuckles. All the fighting only made him hungrier. "If it dies after you punch it enough, I'm game. But I'm not using any fancy tools to wipe it out."

"Huh? I didn't say anything about that." Qaarst shook his head slowly, still trying to stay awake after five chaotic days. "Everyone took care of it a long time ago. But before they got to it, it covered half the base in muck. You guys gotta clean it up." Qaarst climbed into his chair. "Go see Penna about the details."

Nappa's greedy smile flipped into a frown of displeasure. They were _cleaning?_ "Don't you have people to do stuff like that you for?"

Qaarst's chair swiveled until he was facing away from them. "Yeah, I have you." His voice was very faint. "Besides, Lord Freeza takes all the janitors for himself. It's up to us to make sure 53 stays in good condition..."

Vegeta stared out the window. That explained why the entire planet looked like crap. Nappa wasn't having any of it. "Qaarst, I didn't suffer through a year of training to be treated like a cleaning lady!"

Qaarst snored.

"He's out cold," Raditz said, peeking around the chair. "I could try waking him up... but he might get mad at me."

"Who cares," Vegeta said flatly, already at the door. "That's basically what we were doing before." He wouldn't look at Nappa.

"But... why would he get _us_ to do this?" Raditz wondered as they waited for Qaarst's secretary, Penna, to show up. "We've only done two missions."

"You just answered your own question," Vegeta said. He closed his eyes. "We're the lowest of the low. Why get a soldier with years of experience to do a job that just needs a pair of hands?" It was Traala all over again. Just cleaning.

So far, fate didn't seem to know what the hell it was doing.


	7. Just a Kid

Chapter 7

"You wanted to see me?" Vegeta asked Commander Qaarst. It had been three days since the Saiyans got back from Traala, three days of scrubbing away ooze, and three days since Vegeta's spine had felt right. He had spent hours hunched over the floor. At least the storygroup had a party with everybody trying their hand at a slime-based story... Vegeta had laughed until his stomach hurt for hours afterwards.

"Yeah, I—" Qaarst's eyes bugged as he caught sight of Vegeta. "Come back when you're clean!"

Vegeta looked down. He was dripping black slime all over the floor. "Oh, right." He had spent so much time covered in filth that he didn't notice it anymore. "Do I have to? I came here from all the way down in the Quicklime branch..."

"You have to. If I see another _drop_ of that stuff, someone's getting shot into space," Qaarst said, his face green.

"Fine." Vegeta left. It didn't make a difference what he was doing—he was still a six year old Saiyan who hadn't had a real fight yet. For being the only surviving incarnation, Vegeta wasn't really living up to his name.

Let's try that again.

"I want this to be worth my time," Vegeta said a half hour later, freshly showered and dressed in a clean white training uniform. He had to get the mess cleared up as soon as possible so he could train to make up for the lost days.

"I just wanted to see how you're fitting in," Qaarst said.

Vegeta tried not to roll his eyes. Qaarst was obviously itching to find an excuse to kick him out. Well, he wasn't getting one.

"Nappa tells me that you've been quite useful to him," Qaarst continued.

"Who, me?" Vegeta was amazed that Nappa hadn't mentioned the whole attacking thing. Of course, a _child_ like Vegeta was no real threat. It didn't matter how strong he was.

"Yes. According to him, you worked hard on Traala."

"I guess... I took care of half the population or so. I would've helped out on 1527ZJ, but it looked like he had things under control." If Nappa lied for him, Vegeta couldn't just rat him out now. Qaarst would never believe him.

Qaarst actually had the gall to look _impressed._ Looks like he missed the memo. Killing half the population meant you were too infirm to do the _real_ work.

"Nappa hadn't gone into that much detail," Qaarst said. "I have to say, child, you've surprised me! I didn't expect you to be so capable."

Oh yeah... To Lord Freeza's gang, all that mattered was how _productive_ you were. The Saiyan values of quality over quantity had no place here. _What a way to live._

"Well, congratulations. The three of you will be getting your first stipend soon, go buy something nice."

"Thanks... but why are you telling _me_ all this? Why not talk to all of us at once?"

Qaarst puffed out his chest. "I hate talking at crowds of people. It never seems like I get through to them unless it's one-on-one."

Vegeta smirked. That, or he felt uncomfortable with his height in a group setting. Qaarst probably wanted to talk to someone his own size for once. He just hadn't been able to stomach Vegeta's age before he proved himself.

"Also, since you're the youngest you're most likely to be a liability. Now I know you're not, I don't need to bother with that other kid."

"Raditz." Vegeta wondered how good it felt to be strong enough to get away with talking smack about a person right to their face. Would he ever get to find out? Though he couldn't stand to think of it, the truth was that as long as Nappa was around Vegeta wouldn't get to fight. As long as Nappa was around...

"..." Vegeta's heart raced as he started to get an idea. "So I'm allowed to work here now?"

"There's no age restriction to become one of Lord Freeza's men. But you've exceeded my expectations, if that's what you mean."

"So how about letting me do my own missions?"

"You mean without Nappa or Raditz?" Qaarst asked. Vegeta nodded, toes crossed inside his boots. "Of _course_ not. Why would I separate you when you're working so well with Nappa? You finished that planet in record time." Qaarst shook his head. It was always the children that got greedy. That was why he kept asking Zarbon to only give him recruits older than eighteen. Still, he hadn't pegged this Vegeta kid to be so dramatic.

 _If you got results, they were only held against you?_ Vegeta was furious. _That wasn't how things worked!_ And now Qaarst was looking at him like he was supposed to just walk away? Screw this, he was going to _fight!_

Oh, dear. The child was about to argue, wasn't he? "Don't talk back to your superiors," Qaarst said before Vegeta could organize his thoughts. "I'm dismissing you so return to your duties."

" _No,_ you don't understand—"

Qaarst backhanded the empty air before Vegeta could say anything else and the gust of wind lifted the small Saiyan off his feet and out the open door. "Y' know, kid, you might really be something someday, but right now you need to learn to listen." Qaarst slammed the door in Vegeta's face.

He had no choice but to leave. Why was he being stopped at every turn like this? Were his wants so complicated? _No_. He wanted to fight and get stronger. That was all. Vegeta's face reddened as he saw where all this was leading. Without thinking, his feet turned and he went straight to the nearest training room. Fine, if Nappa wasn't going to let him fight and if Qaarst stood in his way, as well, Vegeta would just have to make it up himself. He attacked the punching bags for a solid five hours, hitting them over and over until his knuckles bled. The only one who noticed he was missing clean-up duty was Raditz.

*⁂*⁂*

"Great news!" Nappa crashed into the cafeteria and bounded up to where Vegeta and Raditz were eating.

Vegeta barely looked up from his "food". "And that would be...?" He didn't get his hopes up. It had been three days since they had finished cleaning the mess, and this was the first time Nappa had showed his face. Since no one seemed to care what they did, Vegeta had spent the whole time training with Raditz. That was how low he had sunk.

"I _finally_ got Qaarst to fork over one of the good missions," Nappa said triumphantly, slamming a file folder on the table. "I've been negotiating with him for days."

Something living flickered in Vegeta's eyes for the first time. Slowly, carefully, he took the folder out of Raditz's hands and read through it.

The planet was called "Skijuke". Unlike the smaller Traala and 1527ZJ, it was a solidly medium planet. Population three billion. Vegeta didn't bother to read the rest of the file, because the common power level was 100 points. The most common, meaning the untrained civilians alone had things going for them.

The papers slipped out of Vegeta's hands and scattered. Seeing the look on his face, Raditz quickly gathered them up and scanned them. He started to smile. He was Saiyan too after all, even if it was sometimes hard to tell. "Wow... w... wow..." Raditz gulped. "How soon can we go?"

"We're leaving right now," Vegeta said, standing up suddenly.

"I figured you'd say that," Nappa grinned, "so I already made the arrangements. We're expected to report at the launch pad in ten minutes."

"Make it five," Vegeta muttered, pushing past. There was a strange buzzing sensation creeping through his veins... making him lightheaded... because he knew he would be fighting very, very soon. With a planet like this, Nappa needed his _help_.

Soon, and yet not soon enough for Vegeta, all three Saiyans were ready to go. A low hum filled the air as the space pods hovered off the ground... paused for a moment while the computer checked their bearing... and then blasted away. It almost killed Vegeta to put himself to _sleep_ with all the energy that was welling up inside him... until he remembered that the alternative was to be stuck in this pod, awake, for months.

 _"Before I forget..."_ Nappa's voice came through as Vegeta was programming his _sleep_ timer. _"Make sure you guys set the sleep timer to_ _three_ _months and_ _fourteen_ _days."_

"Fourteen days exactly?" Vegeta asked curiously. "Why so specific? Unless..."

Nappa laughed. _"Three billion people would take forever otherwise. It's a good thing Skijuke has a few moons..."_

Vegeta fell back against the padded seat, too happy for words. He had never _seen_ the Saiyan transformation before, much less made it himself. It was just a shadowy legend to him, almost too fantastic to be true.

But then, what were tails for?

 _"Oh, and Qaarst told me something interesting..."_ Nappa continued, a smile still in his voice.

"What?" What could Nappa possibly have to say that would make this mission any sweeter?

 _"Well, like I said, Skijuke has a FEW moons..."_

Vegeta sighed. "How many moons does it have, Nappa?"

 _"Ten. And it looks like they're in sync with each other. We can get there in time to catch the galaxy's only_ _ten-day-long_ _full moon."_

Vegeta closed his eyes. Ten days? Zellary, his old teacher, had once conquered an entire planet during a three-day full moon. He said that had been the best time of his life. And ten days should be enough time to finish the whole planet off. Which meant there was no need for any tedious body burning... Vegeta's least favorite part.

Maybe Nappa wasn't so bad after all. "Nappa..." Vegeta said quietly. "... Thanks."

 _"I told you it was a good one,"_ Nappa said happily. _"It was almost like it was made for us to take it over! We don't even need to worry about chi blasts, since Lord Freeza only wants it for underground metals or something boring like that."_

Vegeta couldn't care less about what Lord Freeza wanted the planet for. "Let's go to _sleep_ now so we can get there sooner..." He paused. "Hey, what's Raditz doing?" The middle Saiyan hadn't said a word this whole time.

 _"I'm checking his vitals..."_ Nappa snorted. _"He's already asleep. He missed everything."_

Vegeta laughed. "That's okay, we'll just wake him up when we get there. He's in for _quite_ a surprise." Vegeta fiddled with his controls. "I'm checking out, too. 'Night."

"Yeah." Nappa stared out the window as Vegeta's comm went dead. It didn't hurt to do something nice for the kids once in a while. He could barely stand being in the same room as Vegeta when he was so full of himself... bossing everyone around like he wasn't six years old. But he had been much easier to stand recently, for some reason... looks like he was growing up. All communication cut out as the last Saiyan went to sleep.

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta and Nappa's eyes opened simultaneously. The world in front of them could almost pass for a Freeza Planet—it was by far the most technologically advanced one yet. Though the report said they hadn't discovered space travel. Vegeta's breath caught in his throat as he saw the ring of moons orbiting around Skijuke. One of those had the _privilege_ of being the first to transform him, Prince Vegeta.

 _"Okay, 'Raditz' on three,"_ Nappa said. _"One... two..."_

" _RADITZ!_ " both Saiyans roared at the top of their lungs. They heard a scream... then a _bonk..._ then a string of curse words.

"Raditz hit his head on the glass window!" Vegeta sang. "Maybe it'll crack and he'll be sucked into the vacuum of space, who knows? Who knows?"

"... Did not..." Raditz grumbled, even though that was exactly what happened. How did Vegeta always know?

"Enough of you two! Let's land," Nappa cried. It was impossible for any of them to be serious right now. This was bound to be the most fun they had for years.

Getting out of their ships after the dive, the Saiyans were faced with forest surroundings. The squawks and screeches of animals came from all sides as they flapped to get away. "This can't be right..." Vegeta said, confused. "The planet was covered in cities. Did we go through a wormhole on the way here?"

"Must be some kind of nature reserve," Nappa said. Then he noticed the dusky yellow sky. "We don't have much time..."

Quickly, Nappa and Vegeta filled Raditz in on the moon situation. Once he knew, Raditz almost fell over.

"Ten days? That's insane!" He was excited, not whiny. For once. "... Wait... I don't, um, exactly..."

"... Know how to control it?" Nappa suggested. Raditz nodded, embarrassed. "That's fine. Vegeta doesn't, either."

"Yeah," Vegeta said. Boy, his training on Planet Vegeta had been strange. It didn't seem right... if he didn't know better he would have called it inadequate.

"The first full moon'll be up at any second..." Nappa said. "Come closer to me and keep your eyes on the ground. I don't want anybody transforming yet." The two child Saiyans huddled obediently on either side of Nappa. "Alright, since we have ten whole days to do this, I expect both of you to figure it out by the end. Have either of you heard of the mantra?" Surprisingly, both Vegeta and Raditz shook their heads. "Really? Jeez, what do they teach kids today? Whatever. It's nothing special, just a little Saiyan saying to draw your focus. Goes like this:

" _I am not the Great Ape._

 _"The Great Ape is me."_

"Huh?" Vegeta raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Is it meant to be nonsense?"

Nappa huffed. "Once you use your _brain_ , you'll realize what it means. The monster isn't in control, _you_ are. You are the master form that the monster bends to."

"Oh, that makes sense," Raditz said. Vegeta nodded in agreement.

"So say it with me," Nappa urged.

" _I am not the Great Ape._

 _"The Great Ape is me."_

"If you keep it fresh in your mind before you transform, you should be well on your way to finding your rational mind without my help," Nappa said. "Of course, since the Great Ape form is as pure Saiyan as it gets, you'll instinctively seek out people to fight and buildings to destroy. But I'll be disappointed if neither of you can wield the power."

"I think they're coming," Raditz said. There were voices speaking an unfamiliar language and light shone between the trees of the dark forest.

"Good hunting!" Nappa said. "I'll be on the other side of the planet if you need me." He grinned, the advancing torchlight distorting his face into a demon's. "But I wouldn't interrupt me unless it's an _emergency._ " He rose into the air and disappeared.

Vegeta and Raditz muttered the phrase under their breath. The locals would be upon them in less than twenty seconds. "Have you ever transformed before?" Vegeta asked Raditz. Raditz shook his head. "Yeah, me neither." They were still staring at the ground.

"Well..." Raditz didn't know what to say, nervous all of a sudden. "Good luck."

Vegeta didn't answer, already looking up at the sky.

 _I am not the Great Ape._

 _The Great Ape is me._

 _I am not the Great Ape._

 _The Great Ape_ —

Vegeta's mind froze as his eyes drank in the light of a full moon for the first time.

Raditz gulped as Vegeta's jaw dropped and his pupils dilated. "V—Vegeta?" He waved a hand in front of the smaller Saiyan's face. No reaction. It was like he was just... gone.

Then Raditz finally looked up. "Oh..."

Vegeta's tail was prickling with heat, as hot as if it was on fire. The flames crept up his back, one vertebrae at a time, and crawled around his chest.

Then they engulfed his heart.

It didn't beat faster as much as it beat _harder._ Each pound knocked against Vegeta's ribcage more violently than the last, until his small body reverberated with the power of his frantically beating heart. Its energy was too much for him to contain...

Vegeta's muscles burst and his mouth opened in an animal snarl that he'd never made before...

 _I... am n... not... the Grea... t..._

But if he wasn't the Great Ape, then who was? Vegeta wanted to find out.

Just before he lost his mind, he did find out. And it was terrifying.

 **...**

 **It was being a newborn again... confusing sounds... bright lights... new smells...**

 **... Screams... explosions...? Everything was fuzzy and random and did not make sense. Whoever he had been before, he was not himself.**

 **What was his name? He did not have a name. He was Monkey. But not really. Real monkeys only wanted to eat and mate. He ate sometimes. He did not mate. Mostly, he fought.**

 **He was Fighting Monkey.**

 **There were lots of ants around. Sometimes they threw things at him that stung. So he threw things back. The things exploded and there was fire. Strange.**

 **There were special ants that didn't run away and didn't throw things at him. Sometimes they landed on him and hurt him. And when he swatted them off, they got up after.**

 **They were his favorite.**

 **But they were barely around. And once he stepped on them a few times they were gone.**

 **There was something else like him. Big and furry.**

 _ **Ra... di... tsu?**_

 **No. It was just another Monkey. They didn't know each other.**

 **But they did. They were... vegetables? Together?**

 **Too complicated. It made him want to find more ants. The other Monkey better not be taking his ants.**

 **...**

Vegeta never really got ahold of himself. Sometimes he would open his eyes and see the chaos in front of him, but he'd always be dragged back down into the murky depths of his subconscious. Shame. His _mind_ wanted to fight too. Once he woke up and saw Raditz. Something told him that there was trouble, that Vegeta needed to do something for Raditz, but he was pulled under before he could think about it.

Every time Vegeta surfaced, he was covered in a different coat of blood.


	8. Cold Hearts

Chapter 8

Nappa looked up as the sun rose for the first time. The timing was perfect. He was sure there wasn't a single local left alive. No surprise there, they had _rampaged_ across the surface of the planet. He had only seen one of the kids once, probably Vegeta, but a quick bite sent the monkey scurrying away. Nappa was exhausted, almost too tired to fly, but he finally felt himself.

He pulled out his comm and looked for Vegeta and Raditz's signals. Good, they were right next to each other. Maybe they had gotten sentient and started working as a team.

But when Nappa reached their location, he frowned. Both kids were sprawled out on the ground, unconscious. That was normal for Saiyan children after a transformation, but _Raditz..._

Nappa roughly shook Vegeta awake. "Get up! We're going _now._ "

Vegeta sat up and rubbed his eyes sleepily. For a second he couldn't remember what happened.

Then he saw Raditz.

"Is he..." Vegeta's eyes widened as Nappa picked up the tattered, bloodstained Saiyan.

"Dead? No." Nappa listened to Raditz's faint heartbeat. "But we should get him back to 53 right now."

"I... I remember," Vegeta said, shocked. Now that it was over, he knew he had never been in control. That mantra had been useless.

"Get in your ship," Nappa snapped, putting the life-support system over Raditz's face. "Next time, are we going to go through this?"

"N—no," Vegeta said, climbing into his seat. It wasn't Raditz's injuries that disturbed him, it was the _savage_ that had taken over him. This was the Saiyans' special form?

"He's much weaker than you. You have to learn to control your power," Nappa said, setting Raditz's ship to follow his. "Tell me you at least learned to keep your wits."  
"... I did," Vegeta said. He had been too curious... had let the beast take over... had let himself be _frightened..._ but he'd never lose control again. Probably.

When they got back to 53 and Raditz was rushed to the infirmary, Vegeta and Nappa waited outside in silence. The doctor came out after a few minutes.

"It's a good thing you didn't drag your feet on the planet," he told them. "That child was very near death. You can see him in a few hours."

The doctor looked from side to side. Then he leaned in confidentially. "What happened out there? He was so injured, yet you finished the planet in an eighth of the time it should've taken!"

Nappa shrugged. "Trade secret," he said.

They waited in tense silence for a while.

"But no matter what happened," Vegeta said, "that was fantastic." Though he hadn't been sentient, he could _feel_ in his body the fights he had been through. It was like he'd eaten for the first time in weeks. Wait, he hadn't been sentient. Did it count? Had he had his first fight yet? _Come on..._

"Oh sure," Nappa agreed. "Not so much for Raditz, though." They laughed.

Finally, the doctor let them in. Raditz, heavily bandaged, seemed surprised that they bothered to see him.

"They said that you'll be better in three weeks," Nappa said.

Raditz frowned. "That's cutting it a little close."

"Don't worry, we'll get you on a mission as soon as we can once you're out," Nappa reassured him. He gave Vegeta a look.

"And I'll spar with you in the meantime," Vegeta said. He supposed it was his duty as prince, especially after what happened.

"..." Raditz had a thoughtful look on his face. "I know it was you, Vegeta," he said abruptly. "Thanks. I think my power level's gonna go up at least twenty points from that."

Suddenly, Vegeta felt embarrassed. Embarrassed for Raditz who was happy with his pitiful twenty extra points. Raditz, wanting so badly to think Vegeta had done it _for_ him. Raditz, trying to stay on Vegeta's good side no matter what he suspected. And Vegeta, embarrassed that he lacked the discipline to control himself. Like a child.

Raditz was thanking him, but Vegeta could see the fear in his eyes.

That night, after leaving Raditz with the other sick and injured in the stale rooms, Vegeta fell asleep as peacefully as he ever had.

A giant beast bigger and blacker than a mountain roared in **his** face. Its bone-crushing jaws came down on **his** shoulder and threw **him** away. **He was not himself.**

There was a baby in **his** path, wearing a fuzzy coat and shivering. **He** butted it over with his broad snout, snorted, tried to push it out of the way. It squeaked and scrabbled and didn't budge. **He** laid into the baby with **his** claws and slashed ribbons out of it and splattered **his** own face with blood and it screamed and screamed until the screams turned to mewls and still **he** _couldn't stop._

Vegeta opened his eyes to a bright room. His clock read 2:37 and the room was brighter than day.

It was full of moonlight.

He ran gasping out into the hall and slipped on the slick floor. So freshly mopped that he could see his reflection in the water. There was no floor at all, there was an invisible barrier under which the giant monster stared up at him with empty yellow eyes. Oh god, each of its eyes were bigger than him. The invisible barrier was sticky with blood, soft tenderized meat, gelatinous fat congealing under the cold night sky and marbled between lifeless tissue and slashed skin and he was _sinking, sinking towards it and_

Vegeta opened his eyes to darkness. His clock read 2:38. There was no window in his room. His heart stuttered and he almost called out for help before he remembered.

Anyone so terrified of their other form had not been in a real fight yet.

Nappa burst into Vegeta's room an hour after he managed to fall back asleep. "I just talked to Qaarst and we'll be able to fit in a mission before Raditz recovers."

Vegeta squinted with red eyes in the harsh overhead lights. He tried not to look out of breath. At least his heartbeat was private. "He's willing to tolerate you this early?" It was almost 7:00 and the sky must be pale with daylight. No more moonlight behind the walls. Put it _behind._

"He doesn't always sleep." Nappa, already dressed, threw Vegeta's armor at him. "Get this on. The planet's a week away—we'll have just enough time to go there, do the job, and go back."

"How many of them?" Vegeta asked, stretching.

"Only a few hundred. The planet's tiny, too. And they're not even locals, they're Tarlarls."

"Common power level 70. Nice." Vegeta frowned. "Wait, aren't they an IGRIS?"

"Who cares? They're on file."

Vegeta pulled on his gloves. Then he caught sight of Nappa's eyes. He was suddenly reminded of Planet 1527ZJ. "Nappa, are you okay?"

"What? I'm fine. Just hurry up, will you? Otherwise I might have to leave you behind."

Vegeta moved on to his boots. Being able to fight after such a long hiatus was too much of a shock for Nappa. It had reduced him to a battle addict who needed his fix. What was he thinking? There wasn't anything wrong with _Nappa,_ Vegeta was the one with a problem! He should be the same! He needed to fight more. Koness hadn't counted, he might as well have been unconscious for _that_. But maybe all that lost fighting hadn't been a total waste...

"Nappa," Vegeta said, standing. "I'll go with you to this planet. But let _me_ fight this time, alright?"

Nappa snorted. "I thought you knew the rules. The strongest one gets first pick, that's how we've always done it."

"I know, I know." Vegeta clenched his hands into fists. He didn't want to keep talking, but there was a fire in him that needed to be fed. "I'm not asking you this as your sovereign, I'm asking you as one Saiyan to another." He stood on the bed so they were closer to the same height. "Let me do this one mission. I want to see how far I can go."  
Nappa tried not to look away as Vegeta's eyes drilled holes in him. He hadn't thought Vegeta had it in him to be so _polite._ "... Okay, but just this once." It looked like it was just a bunch of scientists, anyway.

"Thanks." Vegeta's earnest voice went dead as he jumped off the cot and strode past Nappa. "Let's get out of here."

Nappa hurried after him, already regretting his choice. He'd be fine if Vegeta would just _admit_ who was stronger... not with words, but by accepting Nappa's authority.

"Don't worry," Vegeta said as they took off. "I won't take all of them. I'll give you something to do." He was feeling a lot more generous all of a sudden. Besides, if he couldn't be a better leader than _Nappa,_ he might as well give up.

"All right..." Nappa was taken aback by Vegeta's words. Why did he feel obligated to repay him? _Nnng..._ "... It'll only be a few days' travel, so we don't have to go to _sleep_... how 'bout we image train to pass the time?"

Vegeta smiled. "Sure." Why not start now? He wasn't picky.

*⁂*⁂*

 _"You didn't tell me it was going to be arctic!"_ Vegeta shouted over the howling wind. He couldn't see anything of Nappa in the blizzard... just a formless Saiyan smear.

"Do you want to take this one or not?" the smear yelled back at him.

"It's not a question of what I _want_..." Vegeta wasn't about to back out now. "... But at this rate, our ships'll be buried by the time I get back!"

"If you have to, call your ship with your remote control!" Nappa's voice was hoarse from shouting, yet his words were a whisper in the storm. "Just don't push the self-destruct button!"

"What a comedian," Vegeta muttered, hugging himself tightly. He could handle a little cold if it meant getting the chance to fight... and get away from Nappa. He trudged off in a random direction. The planet really was tiny, smaller than 53, even. It didn't matter where he went, he was bound to find the Tarlarls.

He could handle a little cold... but maybe this was more than a little. Vegeta pulled out his remote. _-35°C, -50°C_ with the windchill.

That was _freezing_. Planet Vegeta's winter had been a month long with rain. Not this. Vegeta realized he was still holding the remote. When he tried to put it back, his fingers had too much trouble opening. He wasn't cold, though, his skin just stung. But he was sleepy.

Vegeta's face burned with heat as he tipped forwards into a snowdrift. Come to think of it... this was the first time he'd seen snow before... it was fluffier than he'd imagined. Like a soft bed...

Didn't Ren tell him once that people fell asleep as they froze to death? No, that couldn't be true... Vegeta felt warm and toasty. This snow must be special alien snow. Just in case, he held up his hand, still clutching the remote. _B_ — _better... c... all... spaceship..._ Was he in trouble? His mind seemed to think so... but his heart was numb.

Vegeta's mind told him he was dying.

He couldn't move any of his fingers, so he pressed the buttons on his remote with his nose. He hoped they were the right ones... the remote didn't have a screen and there wasn't enough feeling in his face to tell if he was touching anything.

If Vegeta's ship showed up five minutes later than it did, it wouldn't have a rider. After shivering on the pod's floor for what seemed like an eternity, his death grip on the remote control eased up enough to let it fall to the floor. But it took a lot longer for him to be able to pick it up. When he finally did, Vegeta programmed his ship to return to Nappa's. He needed time to figure out a strategy.

When he got back, a quick peek into the bitter cold showed that Nappa was gone. That sealed it. There was an easy way around this obstacle, since Nappa didn't wear sleeves _or_ pants. Vegeta's brain just needed to finish thawing.

The answer was simple, of course. He had just gotten ahead of himself. After taking another half hour to warm up, and nervously deciding that his red, stinging, chafed skin didn't need further attention, Vegeta closed his eyes and started to build up his _chi_. He stopped before it surfaced, so it was running right under his skin like a current. He only needed to fine tune it a little... and _heat_.

Leaving his ship was like stepping into summer rains. This time, Vegeta knew the warmth was real and not his body's attempt to trick him into a comfortable death. The only question: should he be happy or disturbed that Nappa hadn't bothered to _tell_ him any of this?

But that was just another distraction. Right now, it was time to hunt down this small planet's unlucky residents.

It took Vegeta an hour to slog through the thick snow and come across a sign of life. It was a trapdoor equipped with unseen vents that blasted hot air to keep the snow away. He quietly opened it and climbed down into darkness. The Tarlarls were a benevolent race—they would never leave the door to safety locked on such a planet. It was no wonder none of them worked for Lord Freeza. They didn't have what it took.

Vegeta floated down, his feet occasionally catching on a stair. Where were the lights? He couldn't even see his tail in the blackness.

At least he found the floor. Vegeta cautiously walked down a long hallway. After the utter darkness of the entrance, the dim orange lights flickering overhead were blinding. Ears and eyes straining for an attack, he wondered if the Tarlarls had seen them land and pulled together some sort of ambush.

Vegeta's head jerked to the side as he sensed a presence in the room on his left. He braced himself for the door to burst open, but the seconds passed in silence. There was an industrial-looking metal handle on the door and a portal near the top. It looked like the room contained something... better see what it was before doing anything.

It was just a dark grey Tarlarl sitting behind a glass wall.

The second the door opened the Tarlarl's head snapped up. **"What's going on out there? If I'm stuck here at least—"** He cut himself off as he stared at the empty door frame. His gaze traveled down until he saw Vegeta. **"Who are you and how did you get here?"** The Tarlarl was nervous. **"Are you an... alien?"**

Vegeta frowned. The Tarlarls were an IGRIS, they should recognize him by his armor alone. **"What are you doing here?"** He could speak Otto, too.

 **"I don't know what you mean. I've been trapped down here since—"**

Down the hallway, a door was forced open and the sounds of battle cut through the air. Just as Vegeta ran to check, everything went quiet. Nappa stepped out of the room. His body was big, but not big enough to block the destruction inside. His armor was dirty and he had a few scratches. He noticed Vegeta. "Don't waste your time, I've already been through the other five bases."

Vegeta was shivering, but not with cold. "Again...?" he said, almost too quietly to hear. "... Didn't you say... _I_... could have this one?"

"You took too long," Nappa said flippantly. "You can't get me to sit around and wait—"

" _DAMN YOU!_ " Vegeta screamed, punching Nappa's stomach hard enough to crack his armor. Quicker than a machine gun, his fists hammered against the traitorous wall that was Nappa.

"Hey— _ow!_ Cut it out!" Nappa made a clumsy grab for Vegeta's tail.

But Vegeta hadn't just lost his temper; this was a fight months in the making. Like he was reading Nappa's mind, he nimbly twisted away.

"Whoa—V—Vegeta, stop it!" Nappa was so caught off guard that he still hadn't landed a hit on Vegeta. He was too _small._ He seemed to be everywhere at once, stepping on Nappa's feet, tail tickling Nappa's nose, actually _hurting_ him. " _ **Stop.**_ " Nappa finally came to his senses and his fist easily found Vegeta's face.

Vegeta fell to the floor on his back, nose gushing blood. That was the hardest Nappa had ever hit him. He jumped to his feet and attacked Nappa again. His mind was sparkling with energy and flames that burst into inspiration. Vegeta was small while Nappa was big. Nappa had big blindspots and Vegeta was small enough to fit in them.

 _He could win._

Nappa growled in frustration as Vegeta disappeared. He was out of sight, yet _still attacking._ Had Vegeta lost it?! "I've had enough of this!" Nappa yelled, jumping straight up through the ceiling. On the planet's surface, he unleashed a giant fireball from his mouth. Shrapnel and debris scattered everywhere as the underground base exploded. But Nappa didn't stop until he had poured out enough _chi_ to clear the snow storm.

Slowly, he descended. The research lab was completely obliterated, but if Vegeta was killed after _that,_ he probably wouldn't have amounted to anything.

It took him a few minutes to find Vegeta, and by then he was almost dead. Nappa pulled him out of the wreckage and dumped him on a snowbank. Almost as an afterthought, Nappa lent him some _chi_ so he wouldn't freeze to death.

After a few seconds, Vegeta's eyes slowly opened. Nappa was standing above him, an unreadable expression on his face. "Come... back to... finish me off...?" Vegeta whispered. Nappa had given him enough energy to protect himself from the cold, but nothing else. He couldn't even stand up on his own.

"Why would I do that?" Nappa was very tired. "You're the one who attacked _me._ "

"I might... as well be... dead..." Vegeta said, breathing heavily. "Kill me... or let me fight..."

"I'm not doing either of those. I can't kill you, because you're the prince... but I can't let you fight, because _I_ have to."

"I told you t... to... stop... being selfish..." Vegeta gasped as a wave of pain hit him.

"You really need to feel superior, don't you?"

"Please... Nappa... just give me another chance. Being prince is all I _have_... don't take that away from me too..."

"Don't you get it? It _doesn't matter._ Your kingdom is _gone_ , kid. Get used to it." Nappa had finally found the guts to stop this little brat from pushing him around.

Vegeta closed his eyes and pretended to fall asleep as Nappa carried him back to their ships. For what it was worth, at least he got to fight... but it didn't count because Nappa hadn't been trying to kill him. On top of that, he had a real problem. If only his battle-starved mind had the strength to think of a solution... but he could feel the last dregs of energy from the Great Ape rampage leaving him.


	9. Fruits and Vegetables

Chapter 9

At that point, the tension between Vegeta and Nappa was thicker than congealed blood. Even so, there isn't a thing in the world that surpasses a Saiyan's love of eats and all three remaining ones had just received their first paycheck.

Not caring who saw, Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz stampeded down the halls of 53. They had just returned from a pleasure trip to the nearest metropolitan planet and they had the spoils to prove it: a floating tray piled almost to the ceiling with food.

The three Saiyans left a trail of snacks in their wake. They were racing back to their rooms. They had gotten lucky—somehow, no one was annoyed enough to stop the party. The chattering, overexcited procession slowed as a purple alien stepped into the hallway up ahead. It was a child, the first one Vegeta had seen in the Freeza Force. He looked from the alien's bug-eyed, big-lipped face to a pack of dried fish on their cart.

Seeing them, the alien sneered. "So... turns out a few of you monkeys made it out alive after all."

"What are you, new? It's been three years," Vegeta said. He could already tell this guy was looking for trouble.

"You're pretty young to be working for Lord Freeza," the guy said, ignoring Vegeta yet still speaking to him. "How old are you? Five?"

"Seven. What about you?" Vegeta shot back. What was his problem?

"I'm eight." The purple boy stuck out his chest proudly. "What about your power level?"

Vegeta glared. He'd wipe that ugly smile off the alien's face. "T—twelve hundred." Rats! He hadn't been sure enough and stumbled over the words. The last time he had gotten his power level checked was when he finished training with Ren.

The alien looked to Raditz and Nappa. "What about you two?"

"Around 300."

"Just over 5000."

The alien almost knocked himself over laughing. "You gotta... be kidding! Ha ha ha!"

 _"What?_ " Vegeta spoke through gritted teeth. He had no idea what was going on, and he didn't like it.

It took some time for the alien to calm down. _These_ guys were Saiyans? Who knew revenge would be so easy! "The name's Kiwi." He smirked and gave a sarcastic bow. "Power level 5400. At your _service_ , monkeys."

Vegeta couldn't believe his ears. This "Kiwi" was... a year older? This "Kiwi" was... stronger than _Nappa_? "What are you?"

Kiwi crossed his arms. "I'm not telling!" He'd never give these creeps the satisfaction of knowing their race had killed most of his. "Besides, we can talk biology later. I know we'll all be _best_ friends." Kiwi's smile was thin and wide, like a frog's. It made Vegeta's skin crawl. Kiwi circled around the food cart once, three pairs of Saiyan eyes following him. He noticed a shiny red apple resting at the very top of the pile. Bending his knees slightly, he jumped six feet in the air and neatly snatched it. He made eye contact with Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz, slowly and one after the other. "You don't mind if I have this, right?" he asked casually, already biting into it with a _crunch_.

Vegeta shuddered. Kiwi's saliva smelled like rotting fish. That, mixed with the cloying sweetness of the genetically enhanced apple, was enough to make him taste bile at the back of his throat. "It's yours."

Kiwi wetly finished the apple. This was great! The three Saiyans didn't have a spine between them! "I'm still hungry," he said, wiping the sticky juice off his chin. "Whaddaya say we take this _delicious_ loot of ours down to the cafeteria and have a feast?"

Vegeta opened his mouth to object. Stupid little brat didn't know his place didn't know his race as eager as a little dog is marking its territory. "I—" But Kiwi looked at him in the exact same way that Nappa did and the words caught in his throat. "Sure," he mumbled.

*⁂*⁂*

"So is it true that you monkeys barely made IGRIS? You know, 'cause you're so primitive?"

There was a long pause, punctuated by the sound of Kiwi eating the Saiyans' food. This had been going on for the past hour and a half. No one had tried to stand up against Kiwi's wall of passive-aggression. Nappa was too busy eating salmon onigiri (his current favorite food), timid Raditz couldn't even make eye-contact with Kiwi, and Vegeta was just staring down at his hands, blocking everything out.

"Did you hear what I said?" Kiwi repeated his question again, but very slowly, as if that would make it easier for the Saiyans' tiny proto-brains to understand.

Nappa had just finished his last rice ball and it had taken less than five seconds for him to lose his patience for Kiwi. With no warning he stood up. "That's enough." Kiwi rose as well, a dangerous look in his eyes. Nappa sighed. Couldn't this brat just let him go? "I would stay..." _So I could teach you your place._ "... But I have training to do."

"Oh, training? Then I'll be your sparring partner."

Nappa froze, amazed. Was there something wrong with this kid? He needed to get away, _now,_ before he did something that got him in trouble. "No, don't. There'd be no point. I'm... uh..." Yeah! That was it! Nappa grabbed Vegeta and Raditz as inspiration hit. "I have to get the kids' tails trained. Sorry. Saiyans only." Nappa dragged the two young Saiyans away before Kiwi could respond. _Take that, jackass! Bet you wish you were Saiyan now!_

"What's going on?" Vegeta asked, noticing his surroundings change. He'd been out of it for a while.

"Nappa... Nappa _saved_ us!" Raditz said in awe. Vegeta looked from Nappa to Raditz, confused.

"How would you two like to get rid of your weakness?" Nappa offered. What the hell—he got them away on this excuse, he might as well follow through. Besides, he'd noticed Kiwi eyeing their tails. He wouldn't put it past the little sneak to grab them next time they met. Yeah, it was probably best this way.

The training center was nearly empty—everyone was still at dinner. Nappa faced Vegeta and Raditz, deciding on what to say. He hadn't been prepared to give a lesson, but that was life. Now let's see... years ago, what had they taught him?

While Nappa was thinking, Vegeta tried not to smash his head against the wall. There was something _wrong_ with him... he wasn't himself anymore. He had spent enough time strategizing on how to keep his tail safe... had it really never occurred to him to just train it? He always knew it could be done, but... first, Planet Vegeta had been destroyed before he could learn there... then he had assumed Ren would take care of it... Sure. Trust the absentminded Non-Saiyan to remember to train a tail. This was 100% his own fault. The way things were now, if his tail was squeezed he could _lose all his strength._ Good thing Vegeta had... Nappa...

Nappa's face lit up as he remembered. Ah! There was a quick, easy way to do this. "Okay, first I'll just test both of your thresholds..."

The second before Nappa's hand closed around Raditz's tail, Raditz squealed and ran behind Vegeta. "No! I don't want to," he cried. "My friends told me it feels _weird_."

"Has anyone ever touched your tail before?" Vegeta asked in disbelief. Raditz shook his head anxiously.

"Well, get over yourself." Nappa had no patience. "You can't train a tail just by wanting it." He reached for Raditz's tail again, but again Raditz stepped away.

" _No,_ " Raditz said firmly, shuddering. He couldn't handle it. "I'll just... I'll just get so strong that no one can touch me!" He wrapped his tail around his waist.

"Fine." Nappa shrugged. "What about you, Vegeta? You can't handle it, either?"

" _Come on_ , don't put me with him," Vegeta said, horrified. If Nappa had taken them here as an excuse to get away from that fish, Vegeta had to be fast before the mood left him. "What do I do?" It was impossible to train his tail by himself—the tighter he squeezed it, the more his strength disappeared.

"Come with me," Nappa said. They headed off towards the far end of the room, towards the pool. Raditz took a few steps after them... paused... then awkwardly walked off in the opposite direction.

Some soldiers on Planet Freeza 51 were aqueous and needed to be completely submerged in water every so often, so this pool was more about function than swimming for fun. It was small, built for five people at most, and only ten feet deep. But it was good enough for Nappa's purpose. He found five kettlebells—weighing twenty pounds each—and a coil of rope. He tied the weights to one end of the rope and then turned to Vegeta, who was watching him intently. Nappa tied the free end of the rope around Vegeta's tail, tightly, then threw the kettlebells in the pool. Their combined weight was almost twice as heavy as Vegeta and the momentum easily dragged him off the edge. With a gasp, his head disappeared under the surface.

Sink or swim, Princeling.

Nappa stood at the edge of the pool, waiting. It was too bad the splash had disturbed the calm surface of the water... it was impossible to tell what was happening at the bottom.

Twenty seconds passed.

Nappa began to grow concerned—if that was what you called it. As much as he disliked Vegeta, he didn't want to be the one who killed him. Especially at such a young age.

Twenty more seconds passed.

Nappa leaned over until his nose almost touched the surface. The ripples were finally clearing... in a few more seconds, he'd be able to see. He started to wonder if Qaarst would punish him if he accidentally killed Vegeta. It wasn't that Nappa was deliberately choosing not to pull him out... the idea of ignoring the test to rescue the kid had honestly never occurred to him.

The first thing that Nappa saw when the water calmed was a face, half an inch below the surface. An instant later, Vegeta rocketed out of the pool, knocking Nappa on his back and splashing the ceiling with water. He made it out alive. But just barely. He didn't have much strength left... he managed to land on his feet but then toppled over. He had to spend a solid minute coughing—coughing until his throat bled—before all the water was gone from his lungs.

"That was... a little risky," Vegeta said, voice raw. He shook his head, spraying drops of water everywhere.

"Hit me," Nappa said, holding out his arm. A little confused, but not one to pass up an opportunity, Vegeta punched him as hard as he could. Nappa rubbed his arm. "Not bad. You seem to be at normal strength and your tail's still bound. Looks like it worked."

"Really?" Vegeta looked down. The rope was indeed tightly wrapped around him. He didn't feel a thing. He stood up and untangled himself, grinning. He had no weaknesses! He had no weaknesses! And it had only taken a minute.

That was the second time Vegeta had almost died, and he couldn't help but feel happy. Strutting the line between life and death was almost as good as fighting someone really strong. For the second time only, his Saiyan blood was appeased. For now. "Let's go find Raditz!" Vegeta said cheerfully, running off. He couldn't believe Raditz had chickened out. He deserved to be shamed—what kind of Saiyan wouldn't get rid of such a _weakness?_

Raditz was behind the first corner Vegeta rounded—with Qaarst, of all people.

"Oh, Vegeta, that's convenient," Qaarst said before Vegeta could say anything. "Where's Nappa? You all have to get your power levels checked."

Vegeta fell silent yet again as he repeated Qaarst's words in his head, ominous and echoing with foreboding. Why? His feet had barely touched 51's ground since he started missions. He'd spent _plenty_ of time...

Stupid. There was no point in thinking—Vegeta would let the instrument do that for him. He'd be fine. He even got to go first—being the youngest had its advantages.

In the room, facing the red orb, Vegeta felt someone watching him. He felt someone who wanted him dead. S... stupid, he was seven years old, hardly old enough to have made any enemies! He was alone, anyway.

Vegeta exhaled noisily and began to build his _chi_.

Two minutes later, he stumbled out the testing room door.

1... 3... 0... 0... ? His power level was _1300?_ He had... gotten 100 points in two years? Of course that was wrong. That was 50 points a year. If he had been taking the test after basic training, he would have failed by 10 points. _Wrong, wrong, wrong._

Vegeta had worked so hard. His feet had barely touched 51's ground since he started missions. He'd spent _plenty_ of time... watching Nappa fight...

"Looks like you've barely improved," Qaarst told him, eyes cold. "I got the impression that Lords Freeza and Zarbon had high hopes for you. At least they won't have the chance to be disappointed; you won't see them anytime soon with _those_ numbers."

Vegeta turned and almost ran into Kiwi. "All right!" Kiwi cheered, not noticing him. "5500! 100 points in two months!"

He had the sudden urge to rip Kiwi's throat out. But then he had a vision of lying at Kiwi's feet, beaten and broken. It was so vivid that Vegeta tasted blood. And it was so tempting. He turned around again, trying to get to his room so he could go to bed.

Raditz bounced out the door and into Vegeta's path. "Yes! I'm on a roll! 50 points this year alone! What did you get, Vegeta? Hey, Vegeta! Where are you going?"

Vegeta was off and running before he had time to understand Raditz's words. And when he did, he wished he had gone for Kiwi, gone hard enough that the fish would have had no choice but to kill him. That would have hurt less and been over sooner.

As he ran, Vegeta realized what he had to do. What he should have done after Traala. He smashed through the wall of Qaarst's office, grabbed a case of files, then shot through the open skies of 51.

Five minutes later, Vegeta shoved the papers and a stolen scouter in his spaceship, jumped in, and took off into outer space. He didn't care if he never came back.


	10. Galaxy Jaunt 001- Stretching Wings

Chapter 10

Nappa and Raditz stepped out of the large passenger ship to a new world. Three years on the grey Planet Freeza 53 made Planet Freeza 65 look absolutely gorgeous. The buildings were whiter. The air was fresher. The soldiers stood straighter. It was exactly what the two Saiyans needed: a warrior's paradise.

"Do you think the training rooms really come equipped with massage parlors?" Raditz asked, eyes shining.

"I think you eat up too many stupid rumors. This is a military base, not a spa." As someone who relaxed by fighting, Nappa couldn't care less.

Since they had spent most of their time away in the field, Nappa and Raditz only had one suitcase between them: a bag containing spare battlesuits, workout clothes, and a package of Raditz's favorite lime soda flavored toothdrops. At the last minute Nappa had thrown in Vegeta's royal and prince rings and instant ramen alongside his own.

"Having your entire civilization turned to space dust has its advantages," Nappa remarked, seeing the size of their fellow passengers' bags. "At least we get to travel light."

"Ha ha," Raditz said nervously, trying not to think of home. "Maybe you shouldn't joke about our planet. I mean, at this rate... Saiyans are going to be extinct in ten years."

"Forget about whatever happened to Vegeta, kid," Nappa said, irritated. "We finally made it off 53... and we're not just anywhere. Look around. This is _Lord Freeza's_ main planet. We're in the big leagues! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"... It's really cool," Raditz admitted. "But Kiwi's been here for months. And I'm just here because you brought me with you _._ "

"And don't you ever forget it," Nappa said cheerfully, making his way off the landing pad. "You're lucky. I've already gotten you farther than you ever would have come on your own. Maybe I'll even make you into a decent warrior."

"I'd be happy if you just let me fight more," Raditz said, hurrying to catch up. "You _are_ going to... right?"

"Sure," Nappa said easily. With the higher-caliber missions they were going to be tackling, there would be more than enough fights to go around. "Hell, I might even need your _help_." Even somebody like Nappa could see the wisdom in having a partner. Raditz wasn't bad company once you got to know him.

"Man, this is going to be great! Why didn't you hit 5500 points sooner?"

"Raditz, I already told you that I didn't _know_ —"

A spaceship smashed against the landing pad that Nappa and Raditz were walking across, crushing them both in an instant.

"Mmf." Nappa grunted, benching the ship off them. It happened too fast for him to be startled so he reverted to his default state: being cranky. Great. Everyone would remember him and Raditz as the two idiots who got hit by a spaceship five minutes after they landed on the planet.

It certainly was an unusual spaceship. About two or three times the size of a combatant's pod, it was a perfect sphere, reddish brown, and covered in spikes. It was impossible to tell where the opening was, especially since Nappa had sent it rolling when he pushed it away. Whatever the craft was, it wasn't part of the Freeza Force. A circle near the top peeled away from the ship and its lone rider climbed out.

If the fat, pink, spiky-headed alien expected some sort of welcome, he certainly didn't get it. Other than the Saiyans, the landing pad was now deserted.

Raditz's teeth chattered and his tail got bushy. Unlike Nappa, being used as a landing pad had given him _quite_ a turn. "Hey, bubblegum skin! Watch where you park your stupid lychee next time!"

There was a tense moment of silence as the alien's pink face got even pinker... but he decided killing a few of Lord Freeza's soldiers wouldn't make the best first impression. Without a word, the fat alien pushed past Nappa and Raditz.

The two Saiyans watched him stomp off. "That sounded like something Vegeta would say," Nappa mused.

"Yeah, well, someone's gotta take his place. You're too old and bald. Who was that guy?"

"No one important. I'd recognize any senior officer. Maybe he came to beg Lord Freeza to spare his planet, I dunno."

"Let's go!" Raditz said, already distracted. "I wanna pick my room before we eat, and it's almost time for supper."

*⁂*⁂*

A screen lit up in the dark room. At first it showed nothing but a grey wall, but after a few seconds a square-jawed man pushed himself up into frame. His face was alert, waiting for the person watching the screen in the dark to speak.

"My dear Mr. Qaarst. Being on the small side myself, I have a certain sympathy for your situation. But surely even you would be able to float a few feet off the ground by now, yes?" The voice drifted from the center of the room, relaxed and carrying a hint of a smile with it.

"It's just the way us Lilliputians do things, Lord Freeza. I don't mind having to get up on a stool to make a video call, especially since these meetings are few and far between."

"And what do you think that says about your performance, hmmm?" The smile grew more evident, even as Qaarst paled. Or perhaps because of it.

"W—well, at least you don't get any trouble from us at 53. I could name _several_ bases that haven't been so clean, uh, _functional_..."

"No need to splutter around like that—you do too much of it already. Take it as a bit of constructive criticism. Besides, you have good news for me today."

Qaarst looked relieved. "Yes, I sent a few soldiers your way who are ready to join the Central Force."

"The Saiyans?"

"How did you... Yes. Yeah, that's them."

"What is Vegeta's power level? Evidently it's over 5,500 by now."

Qaarst glanced offscreen nervously. "Sir... I only sent Nappa and Raditz. Vegeta ran away months ago." Freeza went silent and Qaarst had the strange feeling of being on the end of a dead line, though he could still see the Master's outline on his screen. "I could send out a unit to find him and bring him back," Qaarst offered.

Freeza idly thought of the tracking device planted on every spaceship in the Force. He wondered if the Saiyan Prince destroyed his. He somehow doubted it. "No, thank you. I won't hold you responsible for Vegeta's escape, nor his recovery." Freeza's silhouette shifted as he tilted his head. "Someone's at my door. You're dismissed."

The comm screen went black as the lights flicked on, one by one. The doors slid open to reveal an unfamiliar pink alien. Freeza blinked. He had been expecting Zarbon, not a surprise. Let us see how long this surprise can keep itself alive.

"Lord Freeza." The fat stranger dropped to his hands and knees in a deep bow. "Forgive me for coming with no notice."

Freeza's lips twitched. "Hmm... you're doing well so far."

"What?"

"Nothing. What's your name?"

"Dodoria, sir."

"I see. A Zibethian, are you?"

"Yes, sir."

"And what business do you have coming here? You understand, of course, what it means to waste my time."

"I'd like to enlist in the Freeza Force."

Freeza took a few steps toward Dodoria, peering at him through slitted eyes. "Asking _me_ for a job? _Well._ You're either too stupid to know who our recruitment officer is... or you believe you have something special to offer me."

A single bead of sweat ran down Dodoria's cheek, but he kept his eyes fixed on Freeza's. "My power level is 17,300. I don't think I'm suited to basic training."

Freeza clapped softly in approval. "Indeed. The course isn't designed for someone of that level."

Perhaps ten seconds passed. Freeza was obviously supposed to speak next, but he wasn't saying anything. Dodoria's face was blank—it was hard to tell what he was thinking. Maybe he wasn't.

"You're quite the stoic," Freeza mused. "Of course, a great brute like you couldn't afford not to be. You know you don't have the cleverness to persuade me, so you just close your mouth and hope for the best."

Dodoria didn't say anything to that, which made Freeza laugh.

"There's always a place here for strength," Freeza said at last. "My, my. I think your powers just about equal Mr. Zarbon's, Mr. Dodoria. Welcome aboard."

Dodoria couldn't help but smile widely at this. "Thank you, Lord Freeza." He remembered those two Saiyan punks on the landing pad. "What's my rank?"

"You may be on the strong side, but I'm not putting you too high up. Show me what you're capable of first."

"Can I assign missions? Just this once... I have a few people in mind."

Freeza tilted his head. "Why not? No harm in sneaking a mission or two while your position's still up in the air, is there?"

"No, sir." Dodoria rubbed his hands together. Should he give them a boring mission or a dangerous one? Or both? He hoped there was one like that.  
Once Dodoria had been sent away with instructions to the mission room, Freeza lingered, too self-satisfied to go just yet. He always enjoyed reading new people, he was never wrong. Who knows? If this one's brains were worth anything, Freeza could have _two_ Zarbons in just as many years!

*⁂*⁂*

Raditz hopped out of the spaceship. "What's wrong, Nappa? Are you gonna be sick?" The surface of Planet Kaimon was so soft and elastic that Nappa and Raditz's ship had bounced 200 feet in the air instead of crash-landing the _normal_ way.

Nappa screwed his eyes shut tightly. _Yeah, I'm sure it looks that way,_ he thought. "No..."

"Aw, what's wrong? You've been in a bad mood ever since we got this mission. Is it 'cause we're working under Dodoria?"

" _No..."_ Nappa said tersely.

Raditz lowered his voice confidentially even though they were the only people for miles on the vast, spongy plain. "You miss Vegeta, don't you. I do too. This is the first mission we've done without him."

"Eh? Who cares about that? This was supposed to be our first decent mission! Instead we get an _errand!_ Are we even allowed to kill people?"

Raditz thought back to their instructions. "Ummmm... 'This is meant to be the quiet recovery of a possible ally to the Freeza Force. Soldiers should not seek out unnecessary conflict, as the native Kaimonese are an IGRIS-in-pending.' Oh shoot! We have to be _really careful_ , Nappa. If we screw this up..." Raditz shivered.

"Yeah, maybe..." Nappa's eyes wandered to a far-off complex. "Let's just get this over with."

*⁂*⁂*

The two guards stood awkwardly outside the makeshift cell. Even after weeks of this, they still felt out of place.

You'll have to forgive them. This was, after all, the first time the people of Kaimon, soft as the surface of their planet, had a prisoner.

"What's he doing?" the shorter guard whispered to the fatter one.

"S—still the same thing."

They didn't know how much longer they'd have to guard. The rules for deciding the prisoner's fate were still being written.

Past the cell door into the darkened room, Ronji could hear every word the guards were saying. He supposed it was only fair that they were afraid of him. He had, after all, taken half the Capital City's population hostage and almost blown up the king's palace. And he _still_ hadn't gotten what he wanted...

Ronji sighed deeply and shifted in his seat. He gave his rescuers five more hours to get here, otherwise he'd have to think of an escape plan. But for now, he was content to stare into his glass. The creamy milk that it contained was, to Ronji's newly-changed mind, both a symbol of hope and one of failure.

*⁂*⁂*

Close by, Nappa and Raditz had arrived at the complex. It was actually more of an atrium, with a fashionable mosaic of metal, concrete and glass for walls. The front doors swung open easily. "Is that... cake?" Raditz whispered to Nappa. Nappa nodded. One step inside, and both Saiyans' sensitive noses had picked up the smell. They were in some sort of lobby. A woman at a desk had just noticed them. She was obviously Kaimonese, with tea-colored skin, fluffy hair, and two-foot-long donkey ears. She had barely stopped herself from tipping off her chair.

"C—can I help you?" she called to them in Universal. It had been a long month for all of Kaimon, even without Freeza sending thugs over to hassle them... "If this is about the test results, we've already told you people—"

"That's not why we're here," Nappa interrupted. "Ever heard of a guy called Sanji?"

"Ronji," Raditz corrected.

"Yeah, that. Ronji. We need to borrow him. Um. Not forever, maybe, but for a while at least—"

"Take him! Take him!" the woman cried, jumping up from her desk. "Take that diseased terrorist off into space and make sure he never comes back. He deserves to be put down. Like a dog."

"That's a member of the Force if I've ever heard one," Raditz muttered.

"Take us to him," Nappa said. "And you better not be lying. If you're just wasting our time, I'll kill you myself."

The Kaimonese woman swallowed nervously, but gestured for them to follow her. They headed down to the basement. The building they were in was, of course, Kaimon's biggest Spongecake Gallery. After the woman had quietly led them to two guards, she scurried away. There was no way she was spending another _minute_ in that damned room.

Nappa tried to peer past the guards into the glass cell, but the lights were off. Oh, real spooky. "That Ronji guy is in the cell, right?" he asked the two guards. They looked to each other, then nodded timidly. "Let us in."

"We can't."

Who cared about the instructions. Nappa was ready and eager to do what it took to get this over with quickly. "Then you'll die."

"You don't understand!" the shorter guard squeaked. "We _can't._ There's a timelock on the door and it isn't set to open until next week."

Nappa shoved the terrified guards to the side and examined the glass door. A playing card sized LCD screen was attached at eye height. " _This_ is supposed to keep anything locked? I could tear through this on an empty stomach." Nappa was more irritated than amused.

"Yeah! So could I!" Raditz didn't want to be left out.

"That ain't gonna happen, glutes-for-brains." The voice came from behind the cell door, soft-spoken and bored.

Even if Nappa had heard, he still blasted the door with all his 5500 points. No effect. "You're a complete knucklehead, aren't you," said the voice behind the door.

Nappa and Raditz attacked together, each at full strength. No effect. "You're both idiots. I don't remember specifying to Freeza that my rescuers shouldn't know how to tie their own shoes," said the voice behind the door.

"What do you know about this stupid lock?" Raditz huffed. "Maybe third time's the charm."

The mysterious Ronji stepped into the lit part of his cell. His prisoner's tracksuit was wrinkled, his ivory white hair messy, and his long ears drooped. He was holding a full glass of milk, strangely enough. "I invented and crafted that 'stupid lock' with my bare hands. It's basically tempered klangite. I doubt even Freeza could break it." Ronji yawned and slowly slid down the wall to the floor. It had been a long day.

" _You_ made it? You can't call us stupid when you've locked _yourself_ up! How'd it happen? Were you testing it to make sure it works?" Nappa asked scornfully.

"Tell them, Fort," Ronji said, back against the wall.

"Which one of you is Fort?" Raditz asked.

"Both of them. One's Fat, the other's Short. Fort. Calling them individual names is more than they're worth. I tried it the other way around for a while, but they took my food away until I stopped. Now tell them. Quickly please, I'm losing patience."

Short's eyes flicked nervously to Ronji's form stretched out on the ground. "Um, well, Ronji usee. We had to lock him up before he hurt anyone."d to be our planet's leading scientist until recently, when he... went insan

"You forced my hand. I only had one simple request."

"What's that?" Raditz asked curiously.

"Never mind, just _get me out of here_." Ronji's voice hardened. Curiously, this made the two guards tremble and take a small step towards the exit.

"How?" Nappa yelled. "According to you, this lock is impossible and I'm not waiting a week for it to time out."

"Swipe your finger back and forth across the screen for fifteen seconds and a question will pop up. Answer it correctly and the lock will open."

Fat nearly had a heart attack. "You programmed a cheat into your lock without telling anyone?! You're in _trouble._ "

"What's wrong with a little creative license on my part? Besides, there's nothing any of you can do. These idiots are _strong_ , and nothing'll stop them busting me out of here."

" _Trying_ to bust you out, you mean," Raditz said. Nappa's face was reddening.

"'What's the average length of a Lilliputian dining table?!'" Nappa exploded. "Who the hell _knows_ that?"

"Relax, big guy. Just lean real close to the lock and whisper, 'It's after eight.' That'll switch the question over to your home planet."

"It's after eight."

 _What is the twelfth line of the Saiyan poet, Shaques', most famous poem?_

A few seconds of silence.

"Are we supposed to know that?" Raditz asked.

Ronji started to talk, spluttered, then closed his mouth. His head fell to his chest, limp. "You don't know? Even though it's asking you about your own race, you don't know?" Suddenly Ronji was pressed up against the glass, screaming his head off, getting spit and somehow _blood_ all over the place. "IF YOU DON'T GET ME OUT OF HERE IN FIVE MINUTES I'M GOING TO KILL EVERYONE ON THIS SIDE OF THE PLANET INCLUDING YOU SAIYAN SCUM."

Nappa let out a harsh burst of laughter. "'I'll kill you,' says the _intellectual_. I think you'll find," he said, cracking his knuckles, "that I'm not so easy to lock away."

"Me too!" Raditz piped up.

Ronji deflated and log-rolled across the floor of his cell to the edge of the darkness. He reached in and took out a glossy black marble. "Know what this is?"

Everyone squinted at it as Ronji grinned and put on a pair of shades. "Hey..." murmured the shorter guard. "Isn't that a—"

Ronji flicked the marble. The last thing anyone saw was a flash of light. Saying it was blinding didn't do it justice. The light screamed louder than Ronji had.

Nappa and Raditz were on the ground, heels of their palms digging into their eyes. Never had either Saiyan gotten so close to death so quickly. For twenty agonizing seconds their muscles locked as fuzzy spots the color of dried blood drilled holes through their brains. Once they were finally able to shakily get to their feet, they saw that the guards were dead. The whites of their eyes were hidden under a film of red. Blood leaked out their ears.

"Fort is no more," Ronji said. "You two were tough enough to survive the initial flash, but it was your reflexes that saved you. Expose your eyes to this light for a second or more, and losing your eyesight would be the least of your concerns."

"Are you doing an infomercial?" Nappa growled, giving his head a quick shake. "More importantly, what the hell was that?" His tail tightened around his waist. He didn't like that Ronji was wearing sunglasses. He wanted to be able to see his eyes.

Ronji held the marble carefully between his first finger and thumb, letting it catch the light. "A spark bomb. It's a Kaimonese invention that's been around forever. On contact with any surface, they cast light. We use them in the spongecake mines. Of course, I made a few changes in my version."

"Man, you Kaimonese aren't bright," Raditz said. "Getting yourselves locked up, leaving prisoners with _deadly weapons..."_

"Oh, the only thing they left me with was food," Ronji said. He looked around. "I guess I can turn the lights on..." A soft glow filled the cell, illuminating stacks of snacks. It was mostly spongecake, great bricks of it, but there were a few vegetables lurking here and there, along with some cheese, crackers, and ham. "It was awfully convenient for everyone, shutting me away here in the Gallery's galley. They don't have to bother with bringing me anything, and I get the materials I need to make a spark bomb."

"Well, nice job killing those civilians," Nappa said. "But I ain't gonna be taken down by any bright light."

When Ronji took off his shades, Raditz wasn't the only one who wished they stayed on. Even by Saiyan standards, the look in Ronji's eyes was crazed. "I didn't want to kill you. That's why I _tapped_ it. Muscleby, you have... hmmm... two and a half minutes to answer the question before this li'l marble goes cracking against the wall. And guess what? When that happens, covering your eyes won't save you."

Raditz sneaked a look at the guards' bloodstained faces. "O... okay, we'll get to work, sir!" He took two steps toward the lock then paused. "Um... what does 'Muscleby' mean?"

Ronji rolled his eyes. "Muscles, Baby. And you're not helping your case. Now wrack your tiny brain and open the lock!"

 _"Eeek...!"_ Raditz scurried over to Nappa, already glowering at the door.

"You seriously don't remember, kid?" Nappa muttered, a bead of sweat running down his temple. Raditz shook his head sheepishly. Nappa kicked Raditz in the stomach, smashing him against the wall. "Then your memory is _wasted_ on you!"

"I—I'm sorry!" Raditz sobbed. "I've never even _heard_ of Shaques before, honest!" He coughed and blood trickled out the corner of his mouth. This was how he was going to die. Nine years old, killed by a psycho Kaimonese over a _poem_.

Suddenly, Nappa's fists shattered the glass wall. "What, what?" Raditz cried. "Do you remember?"

"No... but I know who does. Vegeta. He read Shaques as part of his royal training. And then he ran off into space, completely useless to us."

"Please, Ronji, can't you just _not_ kill us?" Raditz pleaded.

"Don't beg, Raditz," Nappa snarled.

"Ronjiiii... what's the point? You'll still be locked up. Kaimon doesn't even have space travel yet."

"The burst of light from my spark bomb will destroy the timelock. And you two brought a spaceship right to me when you came here," Ronji said easily. "You have thirty seconds." He rolled the marble around in the palm of his hand.

Now it was Nappa's turn to look to the dead and bloodied guards. Blood... Nappa _had_ heard the poem before, and it mentioned blood, didn't it? _Bubble and bubble for years in a pot. Something something to fight something something._ But what was the _twelfth line_...

"Ten seconds." Ronji slipped on his sunglasses and Raditz covered his eyes. Nappa swallowed, his throat dry. The only drink in sight was Ronji's milk. Damn. He was going to have to die sober. Not drunk... drunk...

"Drinking salt-blood does nothing for thirst!"

With a beep from the timelock, Ronji's cell door swung open.

Nappa was expecting a snarky remark about Saiyan poetry, but Ronji only chugged the glass of milk and walked out the door.

"Now then, what are your names?" he asked brightly.

"... Hnh?"

"Your _names._ What are the both of you called? You did, after all, break me out of prison." They began to walk, with Ronji leading and the Saiyans trailing behind in confusion.

"Er... I'm Raditz and he's Nappa."

"And I'm Ronji. Nice to meet you. Now let's blow this cake stand."

Only when the trio was in sight of the ship did it occur to Nappa to ask Ronji why Lord Freeza wanted him.

"We Kaimonese may not have the luxury of space travel but we still get satellite TV," Ronji explained. "I know all about your master and your line of work. Lucrative and dangerous, isn't it? I can make it safer for all of you, and you can afford to give me what I need."

"What do you need?"

"What are you going to give us?"

Raditz spoke first, but Nappa's louder voice won Ronji's attention. But maybe Ronji just didn't want to answer Raditz's question. "I have a few ideas," Ronji said, feeling lighter with every step taken towards the Saiyans' spaceship. "But there's one that I'm especially excited about. It's a variation on your 'scouters', a way of making them simpler, less clunky, possibly even _handheld_..."

*⁂*⁂*

It had been raining steadily for days. The entire planet was in the middle of its yearly monsoon. It was annoying on the one hand... visibility was low and Vegeta couldn't remember what it felt like to be dry... but on the other hand, there was no lingering smell of blood to distract him.

Vegeta looked out to the gray horizon, taking a minute to catch his breath. He was surrounded by corpses and he could recall perfectly the fight that made each one. The _fight._ He had been right to leave. For his own two hands to be the ones that had reached into the water and pulled out his drowning spirit... it felt _good._

Vegeta flicked his wrist and blood splattered on the ground. He found something poignant in the way he couldn't tell if it was his or not. That was how he knew it was time to get back to work—when he started getting all introspective. He looked up to see a beam of sunlight stream through the blue-and-purple clouds. It fell on an army, hundreds of feet away, slowly advancing. Vegeta knew it was for him.

Steam rose from Vegeta's body as his _chi_ flared, evaporating the rain that fell on his shoulders and back. He stood still, deciding to let the armada come to him.

He had never been so happy in his life.

*⁂*⁂*

"I wish Vegeta was here," Raditz said as they began their long trip back to Planet Freeza 65.

Nappa tried to sound firm, but he couldn't control his thoughts. "He's not coming back."

 _... I hope._


	11. Galaxy Jaunt 002- Sight of the Sun

Chapter 11

"Good afternoon, Lord Dodoria. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to you for organizing my retrieval and I look forward to serving alongside you..."

... was what Ronji was _planning_ on saying, but one look at Dodoria's chubby, dim-witted, bright pink face shut his mouth. He dived to the floor in a deep bow before Dodoria could see the scornful grin on his face. "You won't regret bringing me here," was what he ended up saying, recovering flawlessly from his surprise. He needed to get used to ugly military-types if he wanted a place here. And staying was the only way to fulfill his desire. Ronji could picture it already...

"Looks like you hit it off with the panel," Dodoria observed gruffly. The small room they were in had been assigned to Ronji less than five hours ago, and already it was a mess. Ronji had just come from orientation with Freeza's top scientists to meet them and exchange data. Now his previously-empty room was strewn with blueprints, formulas, and comm numbers hastily scrawled on graph paper.

"Yes, they seem like a good bunch." Though science was a means to an end more than anything else, Ronji couldn't help but feel inspired to be working with _smart_ people. For a change.

"Never mind that. I'm here to talk about your original message to Lord Freeza."

Ronji nodded. "Of course." It had actually taken some time to build a long-distance communicator out of paper plates and the one fruit tray he had in his cell, but it had gotten him off Kaimon.

"You stated that you would give your loyalty and talents to the Freeza Force on the condition that you..." Dodoria paused, frowning. He stared at the ceiling and scratched his chin for a few moments. Then, with a grunt of defeat, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. "... Condition that you 'receive a supply of mint and chocolate in any form I want, and as much as I want, for as long as I am in your employ.'" Dodoria crumpled the paper up again and threw it on top of a pile of stray theories. "That right?"

"Yes, that is correct," Ronji said, his eyes gleaming. Just the thought of being able to taste mint and chocolate _together_ made his heart beat faster. He'd never have to suffer through another squashy, _moist,_ spongecake ever again.

"Lord Freeza said that's okay, but only once you get results and your salary will be cut in half to compensate."

"Fine by me!" Ronji sang. "Is that all your business here, Lord Dodoria?"

"You have to show your progress every week or else we get rid of you," Zarbon said, poking his head in the doorway.

"Oh dear!" Ronji cried. "You'll kill me just like that?"

"Unless you give a good reason." And with that, he was gone. Dodoria glowered. He'd only met Zarbon once and already he wanted to tear him apart. Stealin' his thunder. Why had Lord Freeza been so quick to shove them together?

Ronji, on the other hand, was charmed by Zarbon's interlude. He liked the semi-formal vibe of 65 (Of course, he wasn't a lowly soldier! He'd been promoted to Lord as soon as he got out of the ship) and was comforted by Zarbon's neither-fat-nor-pink appearance.

Speaking of, Dodoria was still annoyingly in the room. "I'd better get to work," Ronji said, picking up a clipboard and scribbling something down. "Don't want to get myself executed if I can help it, eh? Ha ha ha."

Dodoria snorted, got a bit more than he expected, and had to spit. He aimed for his discarded paper, but the rose-colored blob of mucus splatted some few feet past it. "Better go," he said thickly, hurrying off. Ronji was left alone, holding his clipboard with a half-finished doodle of a few soldiers bouncing on Dodoria's fat tum.

In the hallway, a foul mood glommed onto Dodoria as he remembered that his plan to get revenge on those Saiyans had failed. He should have gone for the dangerous one... but then again, they had just returned with Ronji a few hours ago. There was still a chance to make Nappa and Raditz miserable, or better yet, dead.

An idea forming, Dodoria ran all the way to the mission room. He was thinking of a planet that had already begun processing, but contact with the assigned team had been lost. It was a gamble, but Dodoria was desperate enough to try. "Where are those two Saiyans?" he panted, bursting into the mission room. "I have something I think they would be best for."

"You just missed them," said the furry mission supervisor. "They already left on another assignment."

Dodoria gaped. They were gone already? "Who sent them off? Was it you?"

"Technically speaking, yes, but really they sent themselves. They came here and demanded a... 'real mission,' I think that's what they said. Don't know where Lord Freeza found such ill-bred animals."

"Tell me about it," Dodoria muttered. Even so, he was already cooling off. As long as they didn't cause any more trouble, he probably wouldn't bother with such small fry.

Wandering out of the mission room, Dodoria cracked his back. Now, then. It was time to focus on _his_ assignment. And if he remembered it correctly... it was a fun one. Then again, it didn't take much to make him happy. Let him break a few bones and you wouldn't hear a complaint out of him for the rest of the day.

*⁂*⁂*

Nappa and Raditz found themselves above a clueless planet once again.

 _"Grrr... let's hope this one is_ — _"_

"'Better than the last one? I dunno how to say this, Nappa, but... you complain a lot."

"..." Nappa's comm was silent long enough to make Raditz regret speaking. Then he got angry at himself. Half of their formally-glorious race were whiners, the other half, cowards.

But then Nappa surprised him by admitting that Ronji's rescue hadn't been _so_ bad.

"Nappa!" Raditz cheered. "Now _I'll_ have to step up my game. Good job, good job!"

 _"Don't push it, kid. Let's just get down there."_

The planet was small, pockmarked with impact craters, and had the closest gravity to Planet Vegeta that they had felt so far. Maybe around 10 G. Nice planet. It also happened to be the first mission where their spaceships landed dead center in a cluster of locals.

"Is there anything special about this mission?" Nappa asked Raditz. "Anything we have to look out for, people we can't touch, stuff like that."

"No, this is a standard mission."

" _Excellent."_ Nappa's hunger rejoiced at the news. Nothing could ruin a party as much as having to bother with something as trivial as _excess instructions._

"Should we start here?" Raditz asked out of the corner of his mouth. He glanced uncomfortably at the locals, so shocked that they hadn't moved yet.

"Of course we're starting here," Nappa said at the normal volume. "Remember? The nearest ones always go..." he trailed off, staring at the sky. A glint of something streaked between the orange clouds. Was it silver? Some kind of silver shooting star? No, that couldn't be it. No space rock had enough traces of silver to be visible from that distance. Unless...

The meteor was only a few thousand feet away from impact when Nappa realized what it was—and how big it was. "Bury the ships. BURY THE SHIPS!"

Nappa's booming voice almost made Raditz jump out of his skin, but he was still a Saiyan. Before Nappa could finish repeating his command Raditz was already hurrying over.

"What's wrong?!" Raditz yelled as he frantically dug up the rocky ground. "What is it with that meteor?"

"If we don't get them out of harm's way, they'll be destroyed!" Nappa shouted back over the local's screams of realization. "Now _MOVE!_ "

A moment later and the two ships were covered with earth. Whether or not it would be enough, Nappa couldn't say. He quickly looked up at the meteor, now blocking two-thirds of the sky. They only had seconds before it was on top of them.

With a sinking feeling, Nappa saw that the most breakable thing around was now Raditz. Nappa dived for him just as the silver fist smashed into the two Saiyans, a few dozen natives, and at least fifty square feet of land.

Nappa expected to be knocked unconscious at the very least. He wasn't. Raditz expected to be burnt to death by the scorching-hot fallen asteroid. He wasn't, either.

They were both alive.

Nappa rolled off Raditz and spat out some hair, an unavoidable consequence of any contact with the kid. "If you don't count the time we spent in _sleep,_ this is the second time we've been landed on in twelve hours."

"I guess you're right. Maybe that's just how it works. Maybe Vegeta was our good luck charm and—"

"Will you stop bringing up— _DAMN."_ Nappa, standing up, had struck his head against the low rocky ceiling. It was invisible in the darkness. "St—stop bringing up Vegeta." Nappa couldn't say any more—he was too busy concentrating on _not_ tearing out Raditz's throat. Head injuries always set him off. Lots of things set him off.

A little freaked out by Nappa's labored breathing in the darkness, Raditz eagerly changed the subject. "This ceiling is barely five feet tall," he said, lighting the cave with a spark of _chi_ in his hand, "and the whole cave thing isn't much bigger than a large closet." Raditz exhaled noisily. "We got lucky." A crater on the meteorite's surface had fallen on top of the two Saiyans, neatly boxing them in. "But we probably would've survived anyway. No stupid asteroid's gonna crush _my_ bones."

Nappa glared, sitting down with a thud. "First of all, it's not an asteroid. _'An asteroid stays in the void but a meteor is greedier. Once it's quite got the ground in sight it's called a meteorite.'_ "

Raditz only looked confused.

"They never taught you that? The Official Core Textbook of Space Travel and Conquest?" Nappa frowned. "That's depressing. Anyway, _this_ rock's made of pure Jangite."

Raditz gaped. " _No..._ J—Jangite, as in... _"_

"... As in the fifth-strongest metal in the universe, yeah," Nappa said grimly, rapping a silver wall with his knuckles. "So not only would it have killed us instantly... but now we're trapped."

"T—trapped?" With wide eyes, Raditz dropped down next to Nappa. "So... are we just going to sit here and wait to starve to death?"

"Stop being such an idiot. Of course we're getting out, I just have to _think_ of something. You wanna start pulling your weight? Try to come up with an escape plan before me."

The two Saiyans settled down to think. This wasn't one of Nappa strong suits and it didn't take long for him to lose focus. First he grieved for the days when he didn't need to use himself as a shield just to keep his partner alive. This led him to wonder about their ships... it would be considerably harder for Nappa and Raditz to do their jobs if they were trapped under 1,000 tons of pure Jangite _and_ without a way off the planet. Nappa crossed his fingers for the ships being safely underground. They hadn't had much time to dig the holes... wasn't there an idea in there somewhere?

"We can tunnel underneath," he said. Raditz nodded and started to inspect the ground.

The next second he fell back and sighed heavily in frustration. "There's something wrong... it's like the _floor_ is made out of Jangite, too."

"What are you talking about?" Nappa snapped, taking a look himself. The silver ground beneath their feet reflected their _chi_ light just as well as the walls and ceiling. "What the hell?! How did we end up _inside_ the meteorite?"

"Over here," Raditz said from one of the walls. "There's some normal ground here—the floor isn't all Jangite!"

Nappa crawled over and saw a dull patch of earth pressed up against the wall in the middle of all the silver. It was about six square feet. "Great. We can plant a flower bed before we die. It's not like that pathetic clump of dirt will do us any—"

Raditz, arm buried up to the shoulder in the earth patch, cried out in surprise. "My hand's in open air! I think there's another cave right on the other side of this wall. If we can tunnel through to it, there might be a way out."

Nappa eyed the size of the dirt patch skeptically. He _might_ be able to fit. Maybe.

Raditz screamed at the top of his lungs and ripped his arm out of the hole with enough force to send him sprawling painfully against the opposite wall.

"What happened?" Nappa demanded.

"S—something touched my hand!"

Nappa remembered the crowd of people the Saiyans had landed among. They weren't the only survivors. They weren't the only ones trapped. "First a flower bed and now this," he said, widening the hole that Raditz had dug. "It's getting very suburban. Fine. Let's go meet the neighbors."

Nappa squeezed his shoulders through the hole, very brave of him considering his build. His chest almost got stuck at the halfway point but he exhaled, pushed off the ground with his feet, and managed to force his way forward a few inches. His head was now poking out of the floor of the second cave.

He couldn't even get a look at the cave's prisoners before one of them swung something at Nappa's exposed head. His arms were uselessly pinned at his sides so all he could do was lean away. It hit Nappa square in the jaw and snapped in two. It was just a simple walking stick.

Before anyone else tried to attack him, Nappa wriggled all the way out of the hole. The new cave was much more spacious; big enough to fit at least ten locals. All of which were staring silently at Nappa with their weird faces.

They looked like cartoon suns... but not the friendly "smiley face with lines for sunbeams" kind. These guys looked like those creepy, pagan, human-faced suns with wavy hair. Their limbs were long and thin, their hands were big, their feet were tiny. And the bags under their eyes made them look permanently suspicious.

Since this was Nappa's first real look at them, Raditz slipped into a room that was dead silent. "Are you having a staring contest?" he whispered to Nappa. "Let's just get it over with and kill them so we can—"

"We come in peace!" Nappa said loudly with a friendly grin. "We're just two, uh, _tourists_ out to see the galaxy."

"Don't bother lying," said a sun that wore a patch-covered tweed jacket. "We know you're here to kill us." Nappa's fake smile dropped, to Raditz's relief. "You'll have to wait until we're all out of here before you can start, though."

Nappa frowned. "What do you mean? You found a way out?"

"Our planet has been plagued by these meteorites since the beginning of time. We have a means of dissolving the Jangite, so we won't be stuck here for long. But if you try to hurt us, I'll call the whole thing off from my comm. Kill us and you kill yourself."

Nappa crossed his arms and leaned against the cave wall. "Then I guess we'll wait it out with you. I'm Nappa and he's Raditz. We're Saiyans."

The sun shrugged. "Never heard of you."

That didn't make Nappa happy, especially since none of the locals looked scared of him. Didn't they know that Nappa and Raditz were going to kill them once they were in open air?

"Well, we came from the other end of the first half so that's no surprise there," Raditz said helpfully. Then he sensed Nappa's rising temper. "But never mind. We introduced ourselves, now it's your turn. Don't be rude." His ten year old voice was doing its best to sound menacing.

Nappa almost laughed at Raditz's attempts to match his own mood. He was a surprisingly good sidekick. Now if only he was a little stronger...

The sun raised an eyebrow and glanced at his companions. None of them were paying much attention. "You don't know who we are? Didn't they tell you anything about this planet before you were sent to conquer it?"

"I guess they did..." Nappa rolled his eyes. "But why would we bother paying attention? We're just here for the fights."

"Who knew the Inba Group was so sloppy?" the local muttered to one of his friends.

That caught Raditz's attention. "'Inba Group...?' That's not who we—"

"Just tell us your name and how long we're stuck here," Nappa interrupted. "I'm _bored_."

The sun smiled. "As you wish." He reached inside his coat and pulled out a bottle. The two Saiyans' eyes narrowed warily and they braced themselves. The sun drank from the bottle, gargled for a few seconds, and then swallowed. "That's my name," he said. He took another swig. This time, he spat it out vocally, making a sound somewhere between "blub" and "pah". The liquid—it seemed to just be water—splashed at Nappa's feet. "And that is the name of our species."

Nappa stared at the ground a second, a smile growing on his face. He chuckled. Then he grabbed the sun by his tattered lapels and dragged him roughly against the cave wall. "It's kind of funny how your names are unpronounceable. So why can you speak our language perfectly? Patches—that's your name from now on—I don't think you're being very honest with me."

"I don't think _you_ remember," Patches (Ronji would be proud) said. "One word from me and you'll never get out."

"How do I know you aren't just bluffing?" Nappa grinned. "People have lied to try to save their skins before."

Patches gulped. Nappa took pleasure at seeing the sun man begin to break down. "I'm telling the truth," he said nervously, Nappa's big hands dangerously close to his throat. "They've probably already started. We'll be free in less than half an hour." Patches got a sly look on his face. "But the two of you might not last that long."

"Who do you have up your sleeve?" Raditz asked, scanning the group. "They all look like you, and if you were a fighter your confidence wouldn't have wavered."

"Wake him up," Patches said to the group. A few worried mutters and everyone crowded forward, making a space at the back of the cave.

There lay a sun clearly different from the others. Where they had sticks for limbs, he had logs. Where the locks of their hair were gentle and wavy, his were long and unkempt. Where their hands were normal, if three-fingered, his were armed with scythy grey claws.

Timidly, one of the suns closest to him picked up a rock and threw it. It bounced off his face and he snorted awake. Raditz half expected him to froth and snarl like a wild tiger in captivity, but the sun only sat up.

Patches made his way through the crowd until he met with the wild sun. He crouched next to him and whispered something in his ear. Nappa and Raditz tilted their heads, trying to listen in, but they didn't catch anything. Patches put his head on the wild sun's shoulder and pointed at the Saiyans.

The sun lifted off the ground and floated over the crowd towards them. He touched down in front of Nappa, who matched him in height.

"I'll kill you," he said, making more of a casual choice than a threat.

"No fair!" Raditz complained. "Why do they always ignore—"

"Shh." Nappa pushed Raditz away without breaking eye-contact with the challenger. He knew a warrior when he saw one, and he wasn't letting one second of this battle be dirtied with Raditz's whining.

Without wasting a word, the Saiyan and the sun crouched into fighting stances. The entire room inhaled in anticipation.

The instant everyone exhaled, the fight began with Nappa. Attacking on the less-guarded exhale disrupted your enemy's breathing cycle and could throw them off their guard for a few seconds. Especially if you aimed your blows at their stomach, forcing air out of their lungs even as they inhale sharply from surprise.

But breath strategies were very old and very common to this side of the galaxy. The sun grabbed Nappa's fist before it made contact, hijacked his own momentum, and flipped Nappa over his head. The sun jumped up when Nappa was directly above him and headbutted him even higher. Nappa was the one struggling to catch his breath. The sun grabbed him by his sides and scraped him back and forth against the rocky cave ceiling.

The rest of the suns cheered as Nappa struggled to free himself, pinned to the ceiling. Raditz winced, even though he knew Nappa's armor would stop him getting more than some shredded skin on his arms and legs. Still, the wild sun must be a lot stronger than any of their previous enemies. Raditz had never seen Nappa trapped for so long.

Nappa finally managed to pry the sun's hands off him and he fell heavily to the ground. The cave wasn't big enough to give him time to prepare as the sun fell after him, and he could barely knock his opponent away.

This continued on for fifteen minutes. The sun was not only matching Nappa, he was pressing him back. Slowly, in small ways, but Raditz saw them all: a stumble here, a punch taken full-force there...

"Remember, you wanted this," Raditz couldn't help but point out during one of the ebbs in the fight.

Nappa glared at him with dark eyes rimmed by cuts and bruises. "Did I say I didn't? This one's just a little hard to crack."

Raditz wished he hadn't spoke as he saw the sun come at Nappa from behind. That sneak-attack cost Nappa two teeth and it was Raditz's fault. Nappa would probably take it out on him later.

Raditz frowned as he watched Nappa lift off the ground from the force of the sun's uppercut. That was the fourth time Nappa had been thrown towards the ceiling this fight. Could the sun be doing it on purpose?

Another question: why were they sent to this planet if there were superior powers living here? Was there some mix-up with the files?

His brain rejecting the thought of paperwork, Raditz turned back to the fight. Nappa was in bad shape. His strength was starting to be affected from the damage he took, and it would be all downhill from there. Raditz wrinkled his nose after watching for a few seconds. Ugh.

Wait, since when did he not like watching battle?

Raditz got up off the ground after losing his footing from the shock. "Thank god," he muttered. It was this particular fight that was gross to look at. It was too top-heavy. Both of them were fighting only with their arms, and the sun kept driving Nappa up.

Why didn't they use their legs and feet?

"Nappa, you have to kick him!" Raditz yelled. The suns, realizing he knew their secret, all piled on Raditz to keep him quiet.

"What?! Wh—why?" Nappa spluttered, focusing too hard to say anything more.

Raditz, using every point of strength he had, fought his way through the pile of bodies to the surface. "Because they can't SEE—" A hand clapped around Raditz's mouth, dragging him under again.

Nappa let down his guard, getting a punch in the face. But he had noticed the bags under the sun's eyes. They were huge. They were forcing his eyes half shut.

They were cutting off the bottom half of the sun's field of view.

Nappa kicked the sun in the shin. The sun didn't block. Nappa kneed him in the stomach. The sun gasped as the breath was knocked out of him. He bowed his head to keep track of Nappa's feet, so Nappa laced his fingers together and brought them down on the back of the sun's unguarded head.

The tide had shifted and it was Nappa's fight. Good job, Raditz.

Just when the two Saiyans had properly gotten into dealing with their group, a crack of sunlight snuck in through the Jangite. They were free. And they were all warmed up and ready to move on to the rest of the planet.

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta looked up just in time to see the sun duck behind a cloud. This was bad... the clouds on this planet were thick enough to completely block out sunlight. In a matter of seconds it would be pitch black. And Vegeta was already hurt.

"You let down your guard!" The retreating sun was blocked as Vegeta's opponent (a hulking giant with skin like metal) came down on him from above.

Vegeta smashed through five floors of the solar tower they were fighting in. As he struggled to get up, the light faded on all sides. His opponent would find him in seconds, being able to see in the dark and all, and he had to be ready.

But that blow had almost finished him... the guy he was fighting would give Nappa a run for his money. He could literally feel his _chi_ pouring out of him and into the blackness. His opponent dropped down somewhere in front of him. Vegeta took a breath, closed his eyes, then faced his invisible enemy.

"You know where I am," a voice said in surprise.

"Give up. I've already killed all your friends, you're only prolonging this," Vegeta panted.

"I can just build more of them and you're in worse shape than I am," the voice said. The metal man thought he had this in the bag.

Vegeta smiled in the darkness and came forwards, putting his hands out in front of him. His opponent spoke but Vegeta couldn't hear over his focus. The moment the man decided to attack, a ball of Vegeta's _chi_ materialized behind his head.

"Got you, you bastard," Vegeta muttered as the room was bathed in purple light. Before the man could turn around, the energy collided with the back of his skull. His defenses down, he was killed instantly.

The force of the explosion pushed Vegeta, exhausted, out the window and into the empty air. He couldn't see the ground so he had no idea how high up he was.

It was almost thirty seconds before Vegeta struck the planet's surface. The darkness deepened as he nearly lost consciousness, but he managed to hold on. If he lost it now there was no telling when, or if, he'd wake up.

Vegeta still hadn't pulled himself out of his collision crater when the sun came out again. He wasn't quite bleeding out, but if he strained himself it wouldn't be long before he did.

After a few hours, he gingerly climbed up out of the crater. He limped over to a nearby house, loaded up on food for future journeys, and slowly made his way back to his spaceship. As he tried his best to patch himself up, he caught himself wishing for the high-tech medical facilities back in the Freeza Force.

"Only one thing for it," he muttered, picking through his supplies. He'd have to go back. He'd always known, at the back of his mind. His current situation—using the galaxy to hide from the Force like a mouse would the cracks in a cellar wall—was no life.

But it _was_ training. An interstellar expedition, hopping from planet to planet and fighting everything that had a face all the while. Every Saiyan's dream...

Of course Vegeta wasn't satisfied with that. Now that he finally knew what it was like to fight, he finally appreciated that Lord Freeza had the best and brightest warriors of the galaxy working for him. And then there was Lord Freeza himself. Vegeta couldn't avoid his rival much longer.

Yes, he was definitely going to come back. But not now, not when he hadn't even been gone three years. He'd head back once he was strong enough to destroy entire cities with a gesture, once he was so strong they'd have no _choice_ but to take him seriously.

As Vegeta glanced at his planet files, snacking on some kind of meat, he knew the dice he was rolling. For every day he was out, unchecked in space, Lord Freeza was a little more likely to kill him when he returned.

Being a Saiyan, Vegeta could hardly contain his excitement at the thought.


	12. Galaxy Jaunt 003- Cleanup Time

Chapter 12

It started about a week or so after Nappa and Raditz had returned to Planet Freeza 65. Nappa would be going about his business, either eating or training, when he'd get this feeling. The short hairs on the back of his neck would stand up and he'd instinctively look around, smell the air, try to pick up a source of danger. Sometimes it felt like he was about to be attacked... sometimes it felt like he was back on Planet Vegeta, sensing the shift in temperature just before a storm rolled in.

One night, Nappa woke up covered in sweat and terrified. It took minutes for the bitter cold... the explosion... the _panic_ of his nightmare to leave. That was when he connected it to the frequent chills down his spine and saw it for what it was: a premonition. Not only was he getting a glimpse—no, something more simple... an impression—of the future, Nappa also knew _exactly_ what it was about.

But Raditz, like always, didn't have a clue. So when Nappa fell silent one lunchtime in the cafeteria, staring at the younger Saiyan intently, Raditz could only chew his tuna casserole and feel uncomfortable.

Waiting for Nappa to stop looking at him didn't work, so Raditz shied away and bowed his head to focus on his food. At this point, he was sure he had made some mistake and Nappa was either going to break it to him gently or take him aside and beat him up.

"... You're a smart kid, Raditz," Nappa said at last. Then he sighed. "You figured out the suns' weakness all on your own and saved my life. That was the move of a brilliant fighter. But when I spoke just now? You _flinched_. At a compliment. Know what that makes you?"

"A p—pushover?"

Nappa closed his eyes in pain. "You're supposed to say, 'What?'"

"Uh... what? What does that make me?"

"A pushover." Raditz looked confused, but at least he wasn't cowering. "We aren't going on another mission for a while," Nappa said, getting up. "Follow me."

"What? Why?" Raditz cried, stumbling after him. "I mean, if I'm assigned one I'll have to go..." He was thinking back to the dark ages with Vegeta, before Nappa got nicer. Was he going back to his greedy self? But he had said "We", hadn't he...?

"Keep up!" Nappa barked. "They only assign missions to slackers. Besides, what I'm going to do gives us a pass for now." He stopped outside the doors of the training center.

"Wh—what you're going to do...?" Raditz said nervously.

"Toughen you up," Nappa said. "If you're a kid in the Force you gotta be ambitious, like Vegeta, or hellspawn, like Kiwi. You can't be weak. It was easy to let Vegeta do most of the talking, I get it. But you're on your own now. I can't cover for you much longer. If the higher-ups find out you're a potential weakness, we'll both be in trouble. So let's do something about that." Nappa pushed open the door. "Agree?"

Raditz looked up at Nappa with wide eyes. He hesitantly stepped through. The instant he was inside, Nappa kicked him to the ground. He shot a reassuring smile at all the guys working out, his foot pressing against Raditz's head.

"This is what's going to happen if you give me that look again," Nappa hissed, bending down. "Are you a citizen or are you a soldier?"

"... A soldier," Raditz got out, terrified. Nappa raised a fist threateningly. Raditz looked at the wall behind Nappa's head and managed to compose himself. The fist lowered.

As it turns out, that was the core principle of Nappa's training: Do the thing and you won't get hurt. There was no hatred involved on his part, it was just a fact. It was fairer than most of the arrangements in the Force.

Nappa only had to lap around the training center twice to recruit a gang of thugs. Three in total, one spiky, one buck-toothed, one polka-dotted, all hulking beefcakes. There was no shortage of aggressive guys chomping at the bit to start a fight in the Freeza Force.

Raditz got a bad feeling as Nappa pointed him out to the group. They began to walk towards him. He had backed up against the wall before he remembered this was a training exercise. So, like the eleven year old Saiyan he was, Raditz unstuck himself from the wall and faced the seven-by-six wall of muscle dead on.

Sure he had passed the test with his stunning display of bravery, Raditz bounced forwards to claim his reward. "Bet you didn't see that comin', Nappa! My days of hiding are over! If this is the rest of your training, it'll be a—"

Eager to prove him wrong, the three soldiers jumped Raditz before he could say what a " _breeeeeze"_ it would be.

They _thrashed_ him. A full-throttle thrashing, all three at once and without rest. Raditz's first instinct was to fight back, but any arm or leg he stuck out was beaten back down in seconds. Soon he was curled up in a protective ball, dazed. He felt one of his ribs crack.

Nappa watched the action critically. This wasn't good enough... Raditz wasn't _doing_ anything. Clapping his hands, Nappa made up a chant that the others soon joined.

" _Kill the kid! Kill the kid! Kill the kid!"_

It took a moment for the words to reach Raditz's helpless, stunned mind. But when they did, a white-hot spike of fear sliced through him and he acted without thinking. He flipped onto his hands and knees, using his tail as a buffer against the onslaught, and blasted a hole through the floor. All three of Nappa's henchmen attacked the place Raditz used to be. He was now sprawled in a pile of rubble the next floor down, bleeding, broken, but alive.

"Don't worry about him, he's training," Nappa called down to the startled group of technicians Raditz had landed amongst. He then proceeded to be thanked gratefully by the three men.

"I was having a bad day but I feel much better now," the spiky one said in a choppy voice. As they headed back to their workout stations, one of the engineers passed Raditz up through the hole to Nappa who threw him on the ground. Raditz looked at Nappa accusingly through one bleary eye.

"Angry at me? Don't thank me for the power boost you'll be be getting once you recover."

"How'd I do?" Raditz asked weakly. "On the exercise."

"..." Nappa paused, thinking about the future. "... It's a start."

Arriving at the infirmary, one of the doctors told Nappa and Raditz that Ronji had a new invention and he was looking for volunteers to test it. Specifically injured ones. On a whim, Nappa decided to stop by with Raditz.

They found Ronji surrounded by all sorts of supplies: scrap metal, wires, nuts and bolts, glass molds, tools, anything a scientist could want, all strewn across the floor. In one corner of the room was a three foot tall stack of paper—Ronji's blueprints and notes had to be pushed aside now that the real work had begun.

The Kaimonese in question was kneeling at a large tank in the middle of the room, poking at its mechanical guts with one hand and holding a wired-up circuit board with the other. He had traded his prisoner's jumpsuit for the white robes of a non-soldier. Sensing Nappa and Raditz's presence, Ronji spun around and fell over, hitting his head on the tank.

"Spending a month in prison makes you jumpy," Ronji groaned, sitting up and rubbing his forehead. "But come in! I'm almost finished here, so I'll need help in a minute." He eyed Raditz, who was having a hard time staying on his feet. "Looks like you're going to be my lab assistant today."

"What do I... do?" Raditz asked faintly, leaning against the wall.

Ronji picked Raditz up by his hair and heaved him into the tank with effort. "He's heavily injured, you know," Nappa remarked casually from the door.

"That's what I want. Don't worry, Raditz. I'll make it worth your while."

Raditz was too woozy to protest much. "Just get this over with before I bleed out..."

Ronji hung a plastic tube over the lip of the tank. "I'm going to start filling the tank with liquid, so please use the breathing mask for air."

"... Is that 'breathing mask' a funnel welded to a duct?" Nappa asked. Ronij smiled and nodded. He then tossed in a second tube and fiddled with the tank's control panel. The machine came to life and started to hum as a thick green liquid splashed out of the tube. Raditz's eyes widened and he put his lips around the funnel as the water level in the tank rose. Soon he was submerged with his eyes tightly shut.

Nappa and Ronji stood in silence for a minute, watching the bubbles. Nappa had an idea of what Ronji was trying to do, but he stayed quiet. He never liked to get too caught up in Progress.

"Rough day, huh?" Ronji said after a while.

"What?"

"Raditz. I'm guessing you didn't get him like that for me."

"Oh, yeah. Just a little precautionary training."

"What for?"

"... In case anything comes up. No reason." Thankfully Ronji left it at that. Nappa was trying so hard to avoid a certain event that he hated to even think about it. Had to focus on _preparing..._ fixing Raditz... and doing some training of his own, too. He'd get them set up with proper training partners before supper.

After about an hour, Ronji stepped over to the tank and drained the liquid. Raditz dropped the "mask" and jumped out. "I—I'm healed," he said, shocked.

Nappa exhaled. Had this guy really done it? The Force was already using special creams and things to speed up the recovery process, but _this..._ this was a game changer. Especially for a Saiyan. "We better leave you to it!" Nappa said, pushing Raditz towards the door. "We wouldn't want to delay the time it takes to get these things in the infirmary."

"Can we get something to eat now?" Raditz said on the way out. "I'm really hungry for some reason..."

"What for, what for?!" Ronji demanded, running out into the hallway after them. His scientist brain was screaming S _ide effects!_ at him.

"Hmm..." Raditz thought. "Oh! I know. I really want _spongecake_. Nappa, let's get some _spongecake!"_

As the two Saiyans walked away, Ronji sank to the ground, horrified. _Have to rebuild it from scratch... can't even call this a prototype..._

*⁂*⁂*

Nappa and Raditz got kicked off the base for breaking the training center's floor. Kore, the fur-covered alien that dealt out missions, wouldn't say who ratted them out. He only muttered something under his breath about never cooping a Saiyan up.

So now that a wrench had been thrown into his plans, Nappa was forced to improvise. Lucky that he had four months of free time in the vacuum to brainstorm.

He couldn't help but resent Raditz, _sleeping_ peacefully while Nappa wracked his brain to come up with the regimen that could save the young Saiyan's life. At least Nappa could take his frustration out on Raditz and call it training.

The Saiyans' destination was the Ats Moons, a ring of celestial bodies encircling the uninhabitable Planet Mot. Civilization had chosen Mot's ring because all the moons that formed it shared a breathable atmosphere. Though the ring's circumference was almost 90,000 miles across, the moons formed a relatively tight-knit community. The many different species that populated the Ats Moons were constantly hopping from moon to moon to visit.

Which is why Nappa decided to leave almost all the civilians and even a few fighters to Raditz. He knew Raditz was too uneasy with slaughter, especially using his bare hands, so conquering the Ats Moons should do him a world of good. Desensitization and all that.

The mission was a game of hide and seek. Nappa stayed on one planet, guarding the scouter and their ships, and told Raditz where to find the next secret pocket of locals. Raditz really was trying hard to be tougher. He hadn't so much as complained when Nappa gave him his job, though Nappa caught the boy's hands shaking as he set up the scouter. His brave front lasted for the first few weeks until he forgot to turn off his comm one night and Nappa caught him crying.

"I can't hit you if I'm ten planets away, kid, so tell the truth. Is this the first time?"

 _"... N—no... I usually c... can't fall asleep right away..."_

"Do you know why I'm putting you through this?"

 _"... Because you think Vegeta's gonna come back."_

"But do you see why you gotta be stronger?"

 _"No... V—Vegeta's my friend..."_

"He'll have changed. He won't be as patient. And if he comes back to _this_... he'll kill you."

Five months later, Raditz had completed the mission and returned to their base. Nappa was encouraged to see that the younger Saiyan's eyes had hardened... his hands were steady... and he was calm. It looked like Raditz had finally started to change.

On the way home, Nappa and Raditz both fell asleep at the same time.

*⁂*⁂*

Planet Freeza 65, 3:17 in the morning. Every light in the soldiers' barracks was off. Down the hallway, Raditz's small shadow slipped out of its room and headed to the nearest washing station for some water.

It's important to know that while Raditz might be shy around the strong adult soldiers, he was only scared of them when they got angry. Some people wouldn't be able to sleep in the same building as these monsters with power levels in the thousands, but eleven year old Raditz padded past room after room without blinking a sleepy eye. He was afraid of the dark, yes, but that was just the overactive imagination of a child. He lived with the real-life nightmares comfortably.

After flinching at the thunderous splashing of water, amplified by the late hour, Raditz turned around to go back to bed. He jolted awake and made a wild grab for his falling cup when he realized the dark silhouette standing in the doorway wasn't in his head.

 _"N_ — _Nappa!_ What are you doing here?" Raditz hissed, heart beating wildly.

"You woke me up. I'm more sensitive to the smell of another Saiyan nowadays. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Forget about it." Raditz put his glass on the counter. "I'm going back to bed."

"What are you afraid of?" Nappa asked out of the blue. He didn't even have to _try_ to sneak up on Raditz, the younger Saiyan was so on edge.

"..." If Raditz could leave, he would. Nappa was blocking the exit. Better get this over with, then. "D... death. I see it everywhere I look. I _cause_ it. But... I can't handle the thought of it happening to me."

Nappa exhaled in frustration. "Typical that a low-class Saiyan wouldn't know right off the bat."

"What?"

"Just tell me. What about death scares you?"

"That I won't be able to fight anymore," Raditz said instantly.

"So you're not a completely lost cause..." Nappa frowned and rubbed his eyes. "It's late and I'm not in the mood to lecture you. Besides, this is something you should figure out for yourself. But I will say this: The only thing a Saiyan should fear is Lord Freeza. And even then... Vegeta's a year younger and he mocked Lord Freeza by running away. What does that make you?"

"Alive. Vegeta's decomposing on some planet halfway across the galaxy."

"Maybe... we'll just have to wait and see."

"Admit it! The more careful we are, the longer we'll last."

Nappa, on his way out of the room, turned back. All Raditz could see of him was two eyes shining in the near-blackness. "Death tends to go after those that avoid it, Raditz. It's time to go back to bed. We have some sparring to get through in the morning."

*⁂*⁂*

It had been almost a year since Raditz, for all intents and purposes, began training under Nappa. He was doing well. First he learned to keep some dignity around his superiors and then, after a particularly snarky comment almost got him killed (Nappa stood up for him, playing the "child" card), he learned when to bow his head. He was definitely better off than when he started, but Nappa thought he wasn't all the way there yet. There were two things Raditz had to get over... When he was fighting he could hold his own all right, but if the situation was tense he was _never_ the one to make the first move. And he was still scared of Nappa.

(Though that _was_ mostly Nappa's fault... over the months, he'd yelled his throat hoarse at Raditz... kicked him when he was down... and just generally traumatized the kid.)

Nappa was getting tired. He'd have to stop holding Raditz's hand soon and let him figure things out for himself. So, as a last-ditch effort, he'd specially requested this mission from Kore.

 _"Raditz, how does it look out there?"_ Nappa's voice crackled from the pod's speaker.

Raditz peered through his ship's window to the planet outside. "Really grey and dusty. Where is everybody?"

 _"Just over the horizon. Looks like we've landed in the middle of one of the wastelands."_

"I can see the stars. I guess it's nighttime."

 _"Yeah, exactly. You get out first. Since you're about to graduate, uh, Nappa School, I'll let you lead the way."_

"Really? Thanks! Ah, hold on, the door's stuck..." Raditz was so eager to get out there and finally take charge that he focused only on forcing open the jammed pod door, and not on the warning that was crawling across his monitor...

Raditz's first step on the new planet, instead of carrying him forward, sent him turning in a slow somersault. His lungs expanded with a phantom breath. His eyes felt dry. It was very cold.

Raditz pushed away his mind's frantic screams of _DEATH DEATH DEATH_ and remembered his training. "NAPPA!" he yelled as loudly as he could. It didn't make a sound, of course, but it _did_ release the expanding oxygen before it ruptured his lungs. The door, where was his pod's door? He'd _ripped it off_ idiot such an idiot grab it now and _get into the pod get into the pod_ only five more seconds before he'd pass out saliva was starting to boil on his tongue in the spaceship now press the door back into place and _please let me live..._

There was a hiss as oxygen rushed into the cabin and it became livable again. Raditz fell back, heart racing like it was trying to win the Grand Prix. He looked at the door suspiciously, attached to the pod by pressure alone, and kept one hand on it while programming the co-ordinates for 65. He blasted off, leaving Nappa's pod in the dust.

 _"Hey, Raditz, where're you going? You haven't_ — _"_

"Don't talk to me," Raditz snapped, shutting off the comm. At this point his feet were on either side of the door while he held it shut with both hands. He stayed like this for the three hours it took to travel back to 65.

Nappa had followed him there. As soon as they were both out of their ships, Raditz fixed Nappa with a cold stare. " _You_ tell _me_ something. Did you send me to that big asteroid on purpose?"

"Yeah."

Raditz grabbed Nappa and pushed him up against a wall, then punched him in the face with everything he had. "Bastard! You don't trick someone into stepping out into the _vacuum of space!_ I almost _died!_ If I was strong enough I'd kill you right where you stand!"

Nappa didn't know whether to laugh or sigh at how much Raditz looked like Vegeta (though Vegeta's punch would have smarted a bit.) So he just patted the young Saiyan's spiky hair. "You'll do alright, kid."

*⁂*⁂*

"Okay, Vegeta, do you have a guess as to what this man's diagnosis is?"

"Yessir, he has a heart condition. It's shortened his lifespan by at least fifteen years and that's _if_ he takes care of himself." Vegeta gave a sidelong glance to the overweight patient drumming his fingers on the examination room table and smirked. "I bet a good scare would finish him right off."

Dr. Rokoro _tsked_ disapprovingly. "Have some tact... those aren't the words of an aspiring physician. It's been four days, high time you started getting serious, hmmm?"

Vegeta bowed apologetically and retrieved his clipboard, pretending to make a note. _Four days, huh..._ A personal record of his: four days since landing on this planet (he hadn't bothered to learn the name, of course) and everyone was still alive. Why? _Uh..._

Vegeta wasn't sure if it was sixth sense or laziness, but something was telling him to wait. After three years of constant planet processing, he had decided to slow down for a while. So he apprenticed himself to this fish-headed doctor, Rokoro. At least he wasn't letting himself go _completely._

"Student! Pay attention. I'm trying to show you the secret to healing Mr. Diako here."

Vegeta reluctantly apologized again. _H_ _ard to take orders after being on my own for so long, but I guess it's good practice for returning to the Force._ "I'm listening."

"Don't listen. Watch. Watch carefully." Dr. Rokoro focused on Jako? Jenkin? Does it matter? and gathered himself. He pressed together the index and middle fingers of his right hand, almost like a gun, and pointed it at the patient. After a few seconds, the patient's chest inflated and his breathing deepened. Vegeta covertly sniffed the air. The thin, metallic stench of sickness was quickly airing out. Hmmm...

Dr. Rokoro refused to talk until Shanken had left. But he opened up once they were alone.

"It's a _chi-_ based technique. You use your fingers to direct your energy into their ribcage, where it gives the heart the extra _oomph_ it needs to work healthily again. I'm sure after a few years studying under me you'll have a good enough sense of _chi_ to try it out on a mouse, or perhaps even a rat..."

"So it only makes people's' hearts stronger?" Vegeta prompted.

"Well, yes... can't do much against cardiovascular viruses, though. It only helps with weakness and strain. However..."

"Tell me. Uh, if it isn't too much trouble."

Dr. Rokoro sighed. "It doesn't concern you right now, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have you know ahead of time."

 _"Tell me."_ It was lucky that Dr. Rokoro was too caught up in his own thoughts to notice the edge in Vegeta's voice.

"You just have to be careful when using it, that's all. Put in too much _chi_ and it overpowers the heart."

"What happens?" Vegeta's dark eyes glittered.

"I've never done it myself..."

"What happens?"

" _They die of course, child._ " Dr. Rokoro chuckled nervously.

Vegeta put up his first two fingers, looking from them to the doctor. "That's my cue."

Ten minutes later he was running loose in streets, the triangular houses on either side of him in flames. His lab coat had long since been discarded and he wore his battered armor once again. Here's what happens when someone's heart gets overpowered with _chi:_ they explode.

Vegeta, drunk on power, continued his rampage halfway across the planet. The only sound for miles was uncontrollable laughter and shouts of "Bang, bang!"


	13. Galaxy Jaunt 004- Homecoming

Chapter 13

Eleven months into the third year that Vegeta had been gone, Nappa and Raditz had made a name for themselves. The competition was stiff—some soldiers were the topic of conversation, the Saiyans only got a mention here and there—but they had a reputation for keeping the stupid mistakes to a minimum, they were pretty strong together, and they weren't lazy. It was enough to get upgraded.

"Nappa!" Raditz burst into Nappa's room, a pillow under one arm and a blanket under the other. "I can't believe how much space we get! The rooms here are big enough to fit _two_ beds! I can lie on the floor and not touch any walls!"

"I'm just glad I don't have to do my own laundry anymore," Nappa grinned, stretching out on a cot that was _finally_ long enough for him. "Though I can't see why you got bumped up... you're half as strong as the average soldier." He kicked Raditz in the side.

"You wanna know the real reason you're stuck with me?" Raditz challenged, pushing Nappa's foot away. " _I'm_ the one who remembered the disinfectant after we walked through that mountain pass with all the bloated corpses. And that bug-eyed spider guy? _I_ was the one who killed it because you got so pissed off you couldn't land a punch!"

"It kept throwing sand at me!"

"It was _taunting_ you so you'd fight worse! Anyone could see that. My point is, you need someone to think for you." Raditz puffed out his chest. "Obviously, a fellow Saiyan would do the job better than anyone else."

Even if Nappa did see Raditz's point, _why oh why_ did Raditz have to be as low-class as you could get? Not even his new-found balls could disguise the fact that the boy was _weak_. There was no way this arrangement was anything but temporary. "Just going to ignore the dozen times _I_ saved your skin? Maybe we're only working together because no other soldier could stand fighting alongside a 600." Seething, Nappa grabbed a pile of his dirty workout clothes and shoved it into the arms of a passing girl. "You! Wash this and have it back here by suppertime."

The girl was a pretty one, with a clear face framed by black ringlets of hair who looked about fifteen. It was hard to tell though, because the laundry pile covered half her face. All you could see was a pair of sharp eyes peering over the top. They narrowed and focused on Raditz.

No point in lying; Raditz might have been staring. A little. He was just thrown off by how _Saiyan_ she looked. She had the black hair and eyes. Her skin was smooth and beige-toned. She had two arms, two legs, five fingers. But what about the most important thing...?

"Eyes up here!"

Raditz snapped back, disappointed. No tail. So she _wasn't_ Saiyan... her planet must have been similar to Planet Vegeta, that's all.

The girl pursed her lips. Technically "Launderette" was in her job description, but why start now when she was bound to be promoted in a month or two? "Hey..." She leaned forward confidentially and Raditz copied her, caught up in her intensity. "What's your name?"

"Raditz..."

"I'm Marone." When she smiled, Raditz smiled (a little because he didn't know what else to do, but also because he thought she was cute) and Nappa just watched the weird exchange in silence.

"So now that we're friends, Raditz, how about you give me a hand?" Moments later, Raditz was holding the whole pile and Marone was waltzing down the corridor. As she came to a turn-off she looked back. "Thanks! I owe you, let's eat together sometime! Bye-bye!" And with a quick wave, she was gone.

The two Saiyans turned to each other, speechless. "What're you gonna do?" Nappa asked Raditz.

"I..." Raditz contemplated the heap of dirty laundry. "She asked me out. I'm gonna do it."

"Wh—wh—WHOA!" Somehow Nappa was even more amazed. "You're going on a date?! Though I guess you _are_ thirteen..."

Raditz's face turned red. "I am _not_ going on a date! I just... I just want to know what she does here, is all. She's the first girl I've seen... well, at least as far as I can tell. You can't be sure with some of them."

"Yeah, right... and you were just 'looking for a tail.'" Nappa smiled slyly, holding Raditz at arm's length. "But you're wondering what she does? Maybe it has to do with how I gave that laundry to her and it ended up with you. Anyways, get out of here and get some work done. Your new friend will be disappointed if you go soft."

*⁂*⁂*

A whispered rumor was ghosting around Planet Freeza 65: Dodoria and Zarbon were going to _fight_. The two strongest forces of the planet, behind Freeza, were turning against each other. But why? Was there an argument that needed settling? Did Freeza order it for his amusement? All anybody knew was that they had reserved the largest—and most sturdy—gymnasium for a certain time and date... and there would be gore. If _Zarbon_ and _Dodoria_ were _fighting,_ bones would break and blood would taste open air. It might even be a fight to the death...

Of course it wasn't a fight to the death, Lord Freeza wouldn't allow it. But nobody had the courage to ask the two if the rumors were true. When the time came and Zarbon and Dodoria were seen heading off together, wallets were fumbled with and bets were hastily muttered. _Who would win?_

"So, Dodoria, tell me about Planet Reinda."

"Two months ago I sent a team of eight soldiers over to get started. When they got there, the planet was deserted. It was like someone had prepared it for us."

"Exactly."

"But I don't see why everyone's making so much noise about it... isn't it saving us time?"

"You're still pretty green—sorry, pink—so let me spell it out for you: _this doesn't happen._ If there wasn't plenty of work to be done on that planet, things to settle, people to take care of, the file would never have fallen into your hands."

It was easy to peg this as a mere desk chat, but Zarbon and Dodoria had been fighting the whole time. So far Zarbon, the faster of the two, had been landing more blows but Dodoria's toughness kept him in the game.

"Anyway, Lord Freeza is keen to hear what happened on Reinda so please tell me all you know."

"You should ask the men, they were the ones who—"

"All eight soldiers have been thoroughly debriefed... nothing came of it. Do I have to tell you that you, as their superior, are responsible if the Master becomes displeased with the lack of information?"

Dodoria threw himself to the ground as a car-sized blast exploded above him. "Well, uh... they could have been wiped out by some kind of natural disaster."

"Reinda had a stable climate."

"Then an asteroid..."

"The surface was undamaged."

"Space pirates?"

"No bodies. No wreckage. My, my, Dodoria, I hope you aren't trying to become a senior officer because of your intellectual prowess."

"I don't know what your game is, _Zarbon._ Like I said, I wasn't _there_. How should I know whose foot stepped on the anthill?" Dodoria didn't like the way Zarbon had been turning up his nose at him.

"I'm not talking about _that_. I want you to show me why you think you should be working directly under Lord Freeza."

Dodoria was taken aback for a second, but then relief flowed through him as he realized what this was. "I'm strong."

"Then show me."

"Doesn't my power level speak for itself?"

"Power levels are there to sate the competitive sewer rats at the bottom. I want to know your strength, not some number."

Dodoria smiled. Maybe Zarbon wasn't so bad after all. "Thought you'd never ask."

Zarbon might have been faster but Dodoria was stronger. One full-force punch to the gut later, Zarbon was on the ground gasping for air. He wasn't too hurt, but Dodoria had managed to knock him over and wind him. There were only five other people who could do that.

"Congratulations, number six," Zarbon said, getting to his feet. "I can see why Lord Freeza's so eager to have you join my side as his personal _attaché._ I look forwards to serving alongside you for years to come." The interview was complete.

After a moment's hesitation, Dodoria shook Zarbon's hand. "Aren't we gonna keep fighting?"

"No time. Now that you're officially at the top, we have a lot of things to discuss. Let's go back to my office where we can get the desk work over with."

(Zarbon had also been working too much recently, and he was afraid if they continued he'd lose control and transform. No one knew about that ugly side of him save Lord Freeza and the Wei Force and he wanted to keep it that way.)

And so it was over and done with: out the room, down the hall, pay no mind to the flocks of soldiers sizing up who looked worse for the wear with greedy eyes. They took a shortcut through the cafeteria which just led to more whispers and fidgeting.

"Listen up!" Dodoria roared. Everyone eagerly awaited the result of the fight. "As Zarbon's co-attendant to Lord Freeza, all of you SHUT your mouths and STOP staring or I'll KILL YOU myself!"

Crickets. Dodoria walked out with Zarbon by his side. It felt good to yell the room into submission.

Everyone watched the two superior officers leave, including Raditz and Marone. Army base gossip wasn't really interesting to either of them, so they resumed their conversation. " _I_ didn't want to do that stinking laundry!" Marone said. "Nothing personal, it was just self-defense."

"But... but... I could've just given it back to you," Raditz said weakly, still not sure what had happened in the hallway.

"Yeah? But you didn't," Marone said, smiling widely. "And that's the beauty of it. I'll answer your earlier question now. 'What am I here to do?' Be the most gorgeous and talented strategist you ever met." Marone mixed her nutrient soup with her vitamin casserole and created nutrimin casseroup. "Of course, I _am_ just a trainee... but I'll be there in a few years."

"Strategist?" Raditz hadn't known they existed in the Force. Marone informed him that every mission he'd ever done had gone through the strategical wringer before even being seen by someone like Kore. And that soldiers like Raditz and Nappa were just the fast food workers of the place. If Marone said something crass but she was smiling at the same time did that mean Raditz should smile too? Too late, he already was. Nappa had thought Marone was leading Raditz on when she invited him to lunch, but the two were hitting it off nicely.

And back to Nappa. Wearing a Raditz-washed tracksuit, he was in the main control center for 65. He'd never been before, there wasn't much call for clumsy soldiers that might accidentally shut off the air supply (it had happened before), but business was business.

"Whaddaya _mean_ you won't fix it?" Nappa, seven feet of growly Saiyan "Can-I-speak-to-the-manager" attitude, towered over the unlucky supervisor on duty. "I know there's mostly sentries and guards posted here, but I was told you have at least one engineer at all times."

"Well, yes. To fix the circuit boards if they ever act up. But I'm not wasting their talents on such a meaningless complaint." Tears streamed down the pale supervisor's face, a natural function of his that stopped his cheeks from drying out and kept him awake.

"Meaningless?! _Every time_ I get in my spaceship, the door almost closes on my tail! Just program it to wait an extra two seconds. Or is that too much to ask?"

"It's just you and Raditz who—"

"We aren't the only ones here with _tails,_ scumbag. You know the Plush guys? They got tails at least twice as long as ours but their code of honor doesn't let them talk about their own pain. I'm not just speaking for myself."

The supervisor sighed. "Not just you, eh? Okay, maybe—" A screen behind him lit up red and an alarm began to sound. Everyone, even Nappa, crowded together as a blinking pixel appeared on the radar.

"An unauthorized spaceship has entered the atmosphere..." the supervisor said quietly.

"One of ours?" Nappa couldn't decipher the codes flashing rapidly across the monitors.

"Yeah. I'll decrypt the information," said a young sentry, typing furiously. Words and letters began to replace the numbers and symbols.

Nappa whistled. "That's a pretty good power level. And that's his soldier ID, right? Z8vSPV? Z8v... SPV..." Something fell off the shelf deep in Nappa's mind and smashed on the floor. Then he was out the door, down the hallway, getting as far away from the landing pad as he could.

" _VEGETA_...!"

*⁂*⁂*

Gigantic starcraft came and went to Planet 65 all day, but that one-person pod streaking across the sky drew more commotion than the ones that were as big as buildings. In fact, only a handful of people knew the ship's rider.

The rest of them thought they were under attack.

No one, in all history of the Freeza Force, had ever rebelled. The crowds of amazed soldiers were all making their way towards the predicted landing site. There was no fear among them. Whatever this ship had come here for, there wouldn't be any danger with Lord Zarbon, Lord Dodoria, and _Lord Freeza_ all on the planet. Excitement grew and brisk walking turned to running. Even the quiet service providers—the cooks, mechanics, scientists—were swept up in the crush of people flowing towards landing pad 17.

The first few soldiers got there just as the spaceship made contact with the receiving trampoline. As the pod's momentum smoldered into the special rubber net, the landing deck filled with people.

The spaceship was covered in dirt, many different types and colors of dirt. There was some kind of cerulean moss growing on the side. A huge crack, kept in check with thick military tape, spiderwebbed across the front window and the back of the ship was dented. Underneath all these battle scars, the paint job was _just_ visible: Gray #41, which hadn't been used on ships since it had been replaced by Gray #42 three years ago.

The old ship seemed to sigh as the door fell open and a young boy with spiky black hair climbed out. He stared in surprise at half the population of 65, staring back at him. There was a moment of silence before someone spoke.

"Are you here to challenge Lord Freeza?"

"No."

That almost made the disappointed crowd turn away, before they realized there was still something strange going on. What was a boy, who couldn't be older than twelve, doing in a combatant's pod? Playing dress up? Look, he was even wearing a set of soldier's armor... though it was pretty beat up and about as out-of-date as the spaceship.

The boy was looking around at 65, unimpressed, when someone asked him his name.

"My name? It's—"

"—Vegeta!" The cry came from another boy, one more familiar to everyone, who was pushing his way to the front. Vegeta's eyes darkened as he got ready to deal with a Raditz who would sob, and cling to him, and babble on about how much he _missed_ him, and—

"Hiya." Raditz grinned and gave a little wave. "I wasn't sure you'd be back, but I knew as soon as the alarm went off. Glad you made it! Nappa's somewhere on this planet too, though I haven't seen him since lunch."

Vegeta's name had sparked memories in the crowd, and more than a handful of people were now connecting him with the missing young prince of Raditz and Nappa's race. Ronji pushed and shoved to see the boy whose name he remembered from when the two Saiyans had picked him up off Kaimon.

Vegeta, caught off guard by Raditz's behavior, was actually happy to see the older Saiyan and was too busy catching up to see the back of the crowd part. It was a while before he noticed Freeza, standing about five feet away and patiently waiting for the two Saiyans to quiet down. Kiwi was peeking over his shoulder.

Vegeta gave Raditz a little push towards the rest of the soldiers and faced Freeza on his own.

"Mr. Vegeta."

"... Lord Freeza."

"Bow." Vegeta obeyed. "Lower." After a moment's hesitation, Vegeta gritted his teeth and sank to his hands and knees, forehead an inch above the ground. Freeza gave the crowd a withering look and everyone hurried away. Kiwi stayed at a respectful distance. Ronji and Raditz poked their heads out from the doorway.

"Why did you leave?"

"I was unable to live up to my full potential on 53. They didn't let me—"

"Why did you come back?"

"This is my home. No other place in the galaxy—"

"Why do you expect me to let you live?"

Vegeta took a deep breath. Lord Freeza's interrogation was calm, toneless, unreadable, but he knew this was his one and only chance. Lord Freeza was _giving_ it to him. "I processed fifteen planets while I was away. No survivors, no damage to the resale value, all completely by the book."

Freeza was silent. Kiwi took that as an opportunity to be an idiot. "Forgive me, Lord Freeza, but what is there to think about? This child defied you by running away, then _insulted_ you by coming back. And to the highest planet, well above his rank! Obviously the only choice here is between execution, or torture _then_ execution."

Freeza smiled slightly and opened his mouth to reply.


	14. Miraculous Invention, Threat of Death

Chapter 14

"And he just _walked away!_ Before Lord Freeza said anything else!" Raditz was filling Nappa in on what happened.

"Where is he now?" Nappa looked around the cafeteria. He wasn't the only one... interest in the young prince's return—and unknown future—had caught fire. More than a few dinners, already unappetizing enough, were getting cold.

"Hell if I know!" Raditz dug into his reconstituted chicken. Excitement, nerves, worry... it all made him hungry. "I ran in the opposite direction. At this point, the less we associate with Vegeta the better. Don't want to get caught up in whatever plans Lord Freeza has for him."

"Never mind, there he is." Vegeta, wearing clean and undamaged clothes for the first time in almost a year, came to their table. "Come to say your last words before the gallows?" Nappa asked.

Vegeta shrugged. "I haven't heard anything about that... I was just sorting out my paperwork so I can switch to this planet. I'm working under Zarbon, I guess he's the Qaarst of this place. You too?"

"We're with this guy called Dodoria," Raditz spoke for Nappa too. "He doesn't like us very much. It's just 'cause when we first met him..." Raditz trailed off when no one was looking at him. "U—uh, Vegeta, there's another Minko brother on this planet, Mull Minko I think his name was, so if you wanna go to a storygroup again... It's so weird how they all look the same, isn't it? I bet you have a lot of stories to tell, heh heh..."

"Maybe I'll drop by, let me know when their next meeting is," Vegeta murmured, not looking away from Nappa. Raditz stopped trying, the silence too unencouraging for even him to keep talking. Vegeta and Nappa hadn't spoken in four years. There was an elephant in the room; the only thing that gave it away was how Nappa didn't look Vegeta in the eye.

"So you didn't stick around to hear what Lord Freeza was going to say?"

"If he's planning on killing me, nothing I say can change his mind. I didn't feel like hanging around to find out."

Raditz laughed in amazement. He'd forgotten what an attitude Vegeta had.

Vegeta didn't say that if he was going to die, this way he'd have a few extra minutes left while Freeza tracked him down. Instead, he ate.

Eating a meal together finally made the reality sink in for Nappa: Vegeta was back and probably staying that way. He needed to go train... alone. Nappa got up and rushed off, almost knocking over Ronji on his way out. The scientist stumbled forward, trying not to spill his mint-chocolate milkshake, and rammed his side into the Saiyans' table. The milkshake slipped out of his hands and started to tip over onto Raditz's food.

A hand shot out and grabbed the glass, neatly scooping the escaping ice cream back inside. Vegeta handed Ronji his milkshake. Ronji looked at him with starry eyes, clutching the milkshake tightly to his chest. _He didn't have to do that for me!_

"Oh yeah! Ronji! Vegeta, this is Ronji. He's one of the leading scientists here." Raditz smiled proudly. "Me and Nappa recruited him on our first mission."

Ronji pushed Raditz back into his place. "Don't try to take credit for my accomplishments. You were just my carpool. And you, _Prince Vegeta._ " Ronji clasped his hands and turned to Vegeta. "Congratulations on your return. I'd like to repay you for catching my drink; would you allow me to properly introduce myself back at my lab?"

To this day Vegeta isn't sure what compelled him, a twelve year old Saiyan fresh off the biggest fighting spree of his life, to humor that strange scientist. Maybe it was Ronji's friendly smile—it had been a long time since anyone was happy to see Vegeta and he _was_ still young. Ronji's room was cleared of all the chunky healing tank debris and was now filled with boxes and boxes of smaller, more delicate pieces. Ronji went to a counter at the back and started pulling things out of cupboards.

Vegeta picked up a half-built device that fit neatly in his hand. "What's this?" Ronji, blending something loudly, ignored him. Vegeta scowled and put it back. He was just about to walk out without saying anything when something caught his eye. For every few pages of notes and blueprints on the floor, there was one covered with small doodles. Just silly stuff—googly eyes and sunglasses and stick figures, things like that.

"What do you think brings most people to the Force?" Ronji asked suddenly, still at the counter.

"Hmm?" Vegeta wasn't expecting the question. "Lots of things. Money, power, a planet held hostage..."

"And why are you here?" That was a trick question. Ronji knew about Planet Vegeta, knew that none of the Saiyans had anywhere else to go. But _this_ one had left for some reason... risking Freeza's anger... and had come back.

"I'm here to fight. No one took me seriously back then... and I guess I can't blame them, with my power level. So I left. But out there I didn't have access to new information or military gear. Plus, strong people were scattered across the galaxy instead of in one place. So I came back."

"You're someone who follows the fight."

"That's right."

"I thought Nappa and Raditz were too, but not compared to you. Maybe because you're a prince? But I'd think the prince would be more cautious and self-protective... either way, I'm glad to find a kindred spirit."

"So are you someone who 'follows the science?'" Vegeta asked, smirking.

"Boring. Inventing things is just my meal-ticket... or snack-ticket, to be more precise." Ronji finished mixing and turned around. "I follow the mint and chocolate. Though I'm only interested if they're together." He gave Vegeta a fresh milkshake.

"Thanks." It was delicious, especially since Vegeta hadn't bought any real food of his own yet, but he was more curious in Ronji's work. He was the only scientist Vegeta had met who seemed more or less disinterested in their own genius. And when Ronji told him about the healing tanks, Vegeta's jaw dropped to the ground. "D—do you know what this means for a Saiyan? We get stronger every time we recover from the brink of death. And with a machine that can heal injuries that quickly..." Vegeta couldn't speak, he was so excited. "Let's be friends! Please. I have to pay you back somehow, this invention of yours will change everything."

Ronji liked to treat his inventions casually, but he was fairly passionate (he secretly called himself an artist) and definitely not immune to flattery. "Well then..." He made sure the door was locked, then picked up the small machine Vegeta had been wondering about earlier. "It isn't finished and I haven't told anyone I started making it yet, but I think you'll like this as well."

"Is it a weapon? I hate weapons."

"It's the next step up from a scouter... a scouter 2.0. You wear it like this." Ronji fastened it over his left ear so it looked like he was wearing half a pair of earmuffs. "There's going to be a small screen that goes over the eye, but I'm starting with the computer because that's the hardest part."

"'Scouter 2.0'...? You mean that tiny thing's supposed to read where other people are? I didn't think it was possible to sense _chi_ with something so small."

"I'm not just talking about that baggage you soldiers drag around on missions," Ronji said, his enthusiasm beginning to show. "I'm building this to be able to read power levels as well. It's only capable of reading anything under 500 right now—any more and it explodes—but with more work I should be able to increase that number greatly."

Vegeta fell to the ground. It was possible to read power levels without feeding a machine _chi_ first? The possibilities were endless. You could know, going into a fight, _exactly_ how you and your opponent compared. You could know which specific missions were responsible for an increase in power. You could see who was slacking off without even having to ask...

Ronji's comm went off. He gave Vegeta the scouter prototype to admire while he answered it. Vegeta, as he turned the miraculous invention around in his hands, realized how lucky he was to be back. This spaceship of progress had almost launched without him. And Raditz and Nappa had recruited this guy? If they played their cards right, there was something to be gained from having an ally in Ronji.

As Vegeta was looking at the advanced circuitry, trying to find one piece he recognized, Ronji sat down next to him and began to scribble angrily on a piece of paper.

"What's wrong?"

"Apparently I'm going to be put down if I don't announce my progress by tomorrow. Grrrr... I wanted to wait until it was finished before going public... they don't have any concern for timing at all..." Vegeta leaned over and saw Ronji put the finishing touches on a small pink and purple creature with two straight horns, black lips, and a long tail getting crushed by a meteor.

"You know that would never be enough to kill him," Vegeta said.

"But this little drawing would be enough to kill _me,_ so don't tell anyone." Ronji ripped the paper up and sighed. "I have to make a lot more progress tonight, so it's time to get to work." He looked in Vegeta's glass and grunted with disappointment when he saw that the milkshake was gone.

Vegeta was halfway out the door when Ronji called him back. "Freeza also said that the two of you have a meeting in ten minutes. He said to meet him at launch pad 22 and don't waste time saying any goodbyes."

Lord Freeza said to meet him there but Vegeta was only met with a single-person pod. He got inside and took off for places unknown, the ship's preprogrammed co-ordinates giving nothing away.

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta's expectations were so low that he was pleasantly surprised when he arrived at a planet, and not a black hole or a sun. In fact, it was a planet he recognized: Kazoo, with hills of blue, metropolises too. It had been on his list before but he kept putting it off because of its subzero, planet-wide winters. He had bad memories of the cold.

But it was summertime, and when Vegeta stepped out onto the roof of a superstructure the air was cool and smelled fresh. Probably because the pollution was disappearing... decimated cities didn't give off a lot of greenhouse gases.

He saw Lord Freeza, accompanied by Zarbon and ten soldiers, looking at the wreckage from the other end of the roof. Everyone except Lord Freeza turned to look at Vegeta as he walked over. "Zarbon," Vegeta said, nodding to him diplomatically.

"I'm sure you're wondering if this is the place you'll die," Zarbon replied.

"Not really."

Lord Freeza turned around slowly, a certain look in his eyes, and Zarbon asked "Why do you say that?"

"Uh... wouldn't you just save the effort and kill me on 65?" Under Lord Freeza's gaze, despite himself, Vegeta suddenly felt unsure.

"This planet is dead," said Zarbon. "No locals, and no resources we want. Lord Freeza has _graciously_ invited you out here, and don't forget it."

Lord Freeza cast his arm out to the ruined city. "Follow." The two of them rose, up and up until the vast city was stretched out below them. Vegeta stared down thoughtfully, wondering what would happen next.

"Do it."

"Hm?"

"Take a shot."

"At what?"

"At the city, Vegeta. You're asking too many questions."

This was Vegeta's chance. He would show Lord Freeza. He was useful. He was strong.

He deserved to live.

The life force that had been unleashed and developed during Vegeta's time away spiked and, in a desperate attempt to show its worth, demolished the entire city. Deserted, run-down buildings to rubble. Trees and gardens to ash.

Destroying that city took a lot out of him, but Vegeta was sure he could do it again if he needed to. So when Lord Freeza took him to a new city he naturally assumed he was being called on to prove his stamina.

"Out of the way." Lord Freeza pushed Vegeta, already building his _chi_ a second time, aside and faced the planet himself.

Vegeta had used both hands and a second to wipe that city off the map. Lord Freeza just stuck out his little finger and shot a single beam down to the surface, looking away carelessly as it streaked towards the new city.

The explosion was twice as big as Vegeta's. When he looked back in awe at Lord Freeza, the monster was charging up a ball of _chi_ in the exact same way Vegeta had. Both hands. _Was he using his full power?_ Vegeta and Lord Freeza's eyes met, and the next moment Vegeta was desperately flying away as quickly as he could.

Freeza watched the Saiyan child go, displeased. Such a weak thing to do, running away. But then again, Vegeta _was_ a child. Irrelevant. The real issue: did Freeza want him as a subordinate? Was the fleeing Saiyan a coward, or someone who knew his own strength?

And just then, Freeza made his decision.

Vegeta's eyes widened with dread as he got past his instinctual response to see the truth: Lord Freeza was building a planet-destroyer. It didn't matter how far he ran. Then he wasn't spending his last moments running and hiding. He'd grown out of hiding, hadn't he?

As Vegeta turned to face Lord Freeza, the world around him burst into flames. The sky was gone, the cities were gone, he didn't know which way was up, his armor might be _melting_... but he didn't let himself fall. He didn't close his eyes.

Something hit his stomach, dragging him backwards... and suddenly four walls closed around him. He was in Lord Freeza's ship, leaving this dying planet and going back to safety. Lord Freeza and Zarbon were sitting across from him. None of the other soldiers were on board. _He had been spared._ Vegeta put his hands on his knees and bowed his head. "Thank you very much, Lord Freeza."

"I thought you might have changed your loyalties all those years away, Mr. Vegeta."

"No, sir. I was always planning on coming back."

"I know. And you know your behavior was toeing the line. Don't do it again."

"I won't..." Vegeta, still with his head bowed, held his tongue. He couldn't say it. He really shouldn't say what he wanted to: _I won't... If I get to fight._

"When we get back I'll make sure you'll get a mission you're happy with. I have something in mind. Don't fret." Vegeta smiled, sitting up. "Oh, and Mr. Vegeta? Where are those planet files you so rudely stole?"

"Drifting somewhere in outer space, probably. I lost them."

Lord Freeza nodded to Zarbon, who got up and dislocated Vegeta's shoulder. He cried in pain and fell back. "I... I can't move my arm...!"

Lord Freeza turned to look out the window. "We have healing tanks now. You'll be fine. Don't steal."


	15. Revenge of a Fish

Chapter 15

And so the young monkey had scrambled out of the mouth of the beast at the last second and returned a legend... to some. Other aliens, specifically certain orphaned purple fish, were less than impressed. Jealous, even.

Jealousy was a strange thing in the Freeza Force. It didn't affect everyone—with all the fighting, honor and pride ran rampant—but those it hit, it hit _hard_. Every warrior's code in the Force was outnumbered by at least ten godless bastards who were as petty as they came. Real scum. Scum like Kiwi. He had been jealous before, he would be jealous again, and he was jealous now.

Kiwi had been staring at the backs of the three Saiyans every meal of every day, ever since Vegeta had come back so infuriatingly alive. That had been six months ago. Kiwi wanted to take that smug Saiyan down a peg, but he didn't want to rush and lose his chance. So he had sat in the same place in the cafeteria, watching, waiting, and keeping a finger on a bottle of something in his pocket.

Suppertime, just before 6:00. Nappa stood—Kiwi sat up and crossed his fingers—and Vegeta rose as well. The two walked towards the salad bar. (Kiwi was too far away to hear, but Nappa and Vegeta were getting two heaping platefuls of radish salad for Raditz, who had lost a bet.) Raditz had stayed behind, but that made no difference to Kiwi. Once he had an unobstructed view of the Saiyans' table, he blew past it so quickly that Raditz couldn't see him.

It took Kiwi a twentieth of a second to carry out his task and twice that to bash Raditz's head on the table for fun. Kiwi snickered all the way back to his table. Finally it was done. He couldn't wait to find out what happened next.

"Raditz? What happened to you?" Nappa shook the unmoving Saiyan.

"He's probably playing dead," Vegeta tsked, setting down his plate of salad. "He'd rather fight both of us at once than eat a radish. But fair's fair. If he doesn't want to, he shouldn't have said he could beat me on an empty stomach."

"No, he's actually unconscious," Nappa said, examining Raditz. "Did he faint to get out of eating these salads? I didn't think he hated them _that_ much."

"Either way, he'll eat them when he wakes up," Vegeta said with determination in his eyes. "They'll just be cold by then."

Vegeta and Nappa finished their dinners and waited for Raditz. The crystals Kiwi sprinkled over Vegeta's mashed potatoes were tasteless and the young prince ate every single one without noticing a thing.

Half an hour later, two nameless soldiers threw open the door to Vegeta's room and tossed him inside.

"N—not on the _BED! Idiots_!" Vegeta yelled, struggling off his mattress and barely making it to the trashcan before violently throwing up. Everything had been going fine. Raditz, after only some persuading, had eaten most of the salad. He'd been moaning about a splitting headache or something, so Nappa and Vegeta shoved the salad down his throat to take his mind off it. Maybe they had been a little harsh. Was karma punishing him for mistreating the other Saiyan?

 _Nah._ Vegeta snatched his watermelon toothdrops and ran for the bathroom down the hall before he threw up again. It would suck, but he might have to take the next day off and wait for this... food poisoning? to blow over. _Oh, well..._

The next day, Raditz stopped by Vegeta's room—they had made a habit of walking to the training center every morning ever since Raditz had come to drop off Vegeta's Saiyan rings and ramen for him—but the younger Saiyan wasn't there. Raditz was puzzled until he remembered Vegeta's incident at supper the night before. With his mouth and throat full of salad, Raditz had been trying to get it down so he could demand why the hell they'd knocked him on the head when Vegeta had convulsed suddenly and puked all over the table.

This was bad for two reasons. Firstly, Saiyan stomachs and immune systems were generally some of the strongest throughout the galaxy, so when anything went wrong it was an especially big warning sign. And secondly, Saiyans always ate a lot and could go through tablefuls of food in one sitting... It was lucky Vegeta hadn't just returned from a mission. Coming back to the base after months, sometimes years away was always cause for a feast. Even so, it only took two heaves for him to cover half the table with vomit.

All eyes turned to the Saiyan table but Nappa and Raditz had been frozen. They didn't move even as a pair of soldiers dragged Vegeta, still retching, out of the room. Then, faces burning, they quietly left through the other door. It had been humiliating, but nothing a few hours sparring wouldn't fix. But now Vegeta had gone missing. Raditz hadn't even thought about what would happen if he was still sick the next day.

Raditz found Vegeta in the bathroom down the hall, curled up and shuddering. He had stopped throwing up hours ago—and had run out of food to throw up hours before that—but his stomach still hurt and he didn't have the strength to go back to his room.

Vegeta was already half asleep as Raditz helped him up. Every time he had started to doze off, to get comfortable even lying on the cold bathroom floor, his guts would ache and he'd have to drag himself in front of the toilet again.

"Tell Lord Fr'za... 'm fine... don't give my mission... to 'nyone else..." Vegeta muttered as Raditz pushed him onto the bed. "It was... Pl'net Tab'gck... zzzzz..."

As if Raditz would do that. Who would dare talk to the boss like that? Since Vegeta wouldn't train with him, Raditz decide to stop by Marone's office instead.

Vegeta groaned and rolled over, deciding to take the next day off as well. But that was _all._

*⁂*⁂*

"Vegeta? Vegeta, wake up."

"What time is it...?"

"Just after ten in the morning."

"Oh no... gotta... gotta train..." Vegeta tried to sit up but his head throbbed so painfully that he fell back against the plasticy hospital-issue pillow. He was in the infirmary, one of the last ones on the planet that hadn't yet been replaced with treatment centers full of Ronji's healing tanks. The ceiling bent and swayed above him and his stomach turned. "What's wrong with me?"

"This is no longer a mere case of food poisoning," whispered a bespectacled doctor from the corner. "You've caught some sort of disease that isn't going away anytime soon. All the symptoms pointed to _parvis vindictae,_ but that poison is weak and would have left your system already. All traces of it should have been thrown up by now."

Vegeta pulled the covers over his head. The glare from the doctor's glasses hurt his eyes. "Go away. I want to talk to Raditz."

Raditz watched the doctor leave, a little uncomfortable at being left alone with the small pile of blankets and spiky hair. He'd never seen Vegeta in such a weakened state.

When it was just the two of them, Vegeta gingerly sat up and looked Raditz in the eye. "Raditz, I need you to find out who did this to me. Don't be an idiot and broadcast it, and don't confront them. Just come back and tell me when you find out."

"I'll look into it," Raditz said with a solemn nod. "... How do you feel?"

"Not good. My whole body aches like I'm covered in bruises. At least I don't really feel like throwing up... but there's no way to know when I'll get better."

"... I see..." Raditz left with a thoughtful look on his face as Vegeta closed his eyes.

Vegeta was too feverish to dream, but his conscious mind took the reigns without permission and replayed all the times he'd been pushed away from a fight. All the times he trained day and night just to keep his sanity. All the times Nappa had looked down at him with the eyes of an addict while Vegeta was left out in the cold.

Nappa hadn't looked at Vegeta once since he got back. When Vegeta finally drifted off to sleep, he was soothed only by the power that came with someone being too scared to meet your gaze.

*⁂*⁂*

In a base that was as full of training and problem solving and trying to live before you were killed as the Freeza Force was, night times were silent. Anyone who wanted to sneak out and visit a certain room had it easy (no one was around to see them) but also not so easy (every sound they made was amplified in the dead air.)

It was even harder to sneak around when your vision was blurry and you could barely walk in a straight line.

Vegeta slid the door to the nearest training center open with trembling hands. It really had been less than twenty four hours ago...

" _Absolutely not." The so-called doctor's grotesquely large eyes peered at Vegeta through an inch of glass. "You aren't well enough to walk down the hallway and back, much less train."_

 _Vegeta's head hurt as he tried to get a handle on this unexpected turn of events. "You can't be serious. What else am I supposed to do all day?"_

" _Not my problem. It's my job to make sure you aren't pushing yourself."_

 _Vegeta gritted his teeth. "I have to train. I'm a superior officer and you're not going to stop me."_

Vegeta leaned against the doorway, slightly out of breath. He couldn't stop thinking about how embarrassing it was to get pushed back in bed by that quack of a doctor. Whatever. He'd just have to stick to night-time training sessions to stay in shape. He had just gripped the bar of a huge set of weights when his heart spoke up. It shivered. Skipped a beat. Writhed in his chest. Argued that this wasn't a good idea.

As he froze, torn between perfectly normal concern and the burning need to stay on his feet, keep moving, Vegeta didn't see the three shadows rise up behind him in the dark. The scuffle was short. After five seconds of resistance, Vegeta was wheezing too heavily to stand, let alone put up a fight. Luckily the soldiers took _pity_ on him and dragged him back to his room without roughing him up. Still, trying to force enough air through his blocked and swollen lungs, his chest pain growing with every breath, made the night hard enough for him.

*⁂*⁂*

"You better have a good reason for coming here, Raditz."

"I—I won't ask for more than five minutes of Lord Freeza's valuable time."

"Then speak now." Zarbon tapped his pen against the arm of his chair impatiently. Dodoria was off commanding an entire platoon of soldiers in taking over one of the most advanced non-IGRIS civilizations on this half of the galaxy. He was probably smashing heads and drinking himself stupid at this very moment. _Zarbon,_ on the other hand...

"Sir? I'd like to speak to Lord Freeza personally."

Zarbon shook his head.

"Is he out?"

"No, he's in the room behind you. But Lord Freeza isn't going to be bothered with anything an under-8K has to say, so either settle with me or shut up."

"Well... I came to say I figured out who poisoned Vegeta."

"Oh? Who was it?" Zarbon said, impressed with himself at how genuine the fake-interest sounded in his voice. There was his act of charity for the day.

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta was climbing into bed for the third time that day when Raditz knocked on his door.

"Don't you have anything better to do than hang around and feel sorry for me?" he asked bitterly.

Raditz sighed. "I know who did it."

"Who?"

"Kiwi."

" _Kiwi?_ "

"Yeah."  
"... I'll kill him. I don't know what his problem is, but I'll punch his smug fishy face in." Despite his words, Vegeta was calm enough. At least he knew what happened now, and it was good that it was someone who he already knew had a grudge against him. "Yeah, as soon as I get better I'll kill him for sure."

Raditz cleared his throat and frowned. "I told Zarbon, who hopefully went to Lord Freeza."

"I said not to tell anyone." Vegeta's eyes narrowed. "Weren't you listening?"

"I just thought that I could get him punished officially. If you attack another soldier you could end up in hot water again."

"You can get away with a lot around here. And I'm not going to thank you for trying to steal my prey, Raditz." Vegeta's red eyes flashed dangerously. "He's the scum who started it—I should be able to get him back."

"Maybe you're right..." Raditz paused. "But there was something else."

"Spit it out."

"Since I was there, I asked Zarbon about your mission. The one on Tabegock? He looked it up and apparently it had been reassigned yesterday..."

"What?"

"... By Lord Freeza himself..."

" _What?_ "

"... To Kiwi..."

" _WHAT?!"_ The pillow in Vegeta's clenched fists exploded. " _That bastard!_ " he spat. "He _promised me!_ What's he trying to say, pulling something like that?! It makes it seem like he _already knew_ what Kiwi did! It's too much of a coincidence! _Damn it!"_

"'That bastard?' Vegeta, you really shouldn't talk about Lord Freeza like—"

"You're the one who shouldn't be calling him—" Vegeta's voice scraped and he cut himself off with a coughing fit.

Raditz stood there awkwardly as Vegeta doubled over, his whole body shaking as cough after cough ripped his throat. He had one hand over his mouth and the other clutching his chest by the time it finally died down. Vegeta didn't say anything, but Raditz could tell by his shallow, rattling breaths and stiff posture that the younger Saiyan was in a lot of pain.

Their eyes met and for the first time Vegeta looked just as scared as Raditz.

"You've been sick for seven days now. Have you noticed anything different since yesterday?"

"Y—yeah... it's gotten worse..." Vegeta whispered. His throat couldn't handle anything louder. "Everything's gotten worse... when you got here, I thought I was fine because I hadn't talked or moved much today... not at all, really..." Vegeta rubbed his eyes. "... But I feel terrible. Everything hurts. My head's fuzzy, I—I can't _think_... can barely breathe..."

"Vegeta, maybe..." Raditz trailed off.

"You think I'm going to die, don't you." Blood pulsed frantically behind Vegeta's wide eyes. He hated this—this _panic..._ like his heart was trying to fit a lifetime's worth of beating into what? A week? A day...? Vegeta crossed his arms, forcing himself to breathe deeply. He would not wince. He would not fear death. Enough was enough. "Just mind your own business. If I don't make a full recovery, fine. Someone so weak doesn't deserve to live."

"H—hey... don't say things like that!" Raditz cried. Vegeta turned those steely eyes on him.

"It's your problem if you don't think the same... but deep inside, I know you do. And you're forgetting something... I don't _want_ to die. I'm also not weak. Now leave me alone, I'm getting tired."

*⁂*⁂*

"You're going on a mission while Vegeta's like this?!" Raditz yelled, trying to keep up with Nappa's pace. "It's been ten days and he hasn't gotten any better. Shouldn't we be worried?"

"In a few months he'll be thirteen and in the clear. You're already safe. It's not my job to babysit either of you. And I have to say... you should take a good look at yourself and ask if being such a mother hen is really helping anything. It's not very Saiyan of you."

"..." Raditz grabbed Nappa's arm and pulled for him to slow down. "Alright, I'm coming with you. I'll meet you at the launch pad in fifteen minutes."

"Any later and I'll already be gone."

*⁂*⁂*

Raditz suddenly found himself stepping into Vegeta's hospital room. The lights were dim to protect his eyes and the stale air smelled faintly of sweat and cough syrup. As for the patient, he was lying still and quiet on his back. His eyes were closed, but there was no way he hadn't heard Raditz come in.

"Uh, me and Nappa are leaving and I don't know when we'll be back."

"Take me with you." Vegeta's ghost of a voice passed between barely-moving lips.

"We can't."

" _Take me with you."_ Vegeta sat bolt-upright, bloodshot eyes pinning Raditz to the spot with their manic glare.

"You're sick, there's no—"

"Please. I want to go. Take me with you, please! PLEASE! I can't—stand—being here! Don't leave...!" Raditz was backing up and out of focus of Vegeta's eyes as they stared at nothing. He started coughing again. Raditz nearly had a heart attack as the glasses doctor pushed past him, holding a syringe. Vegeta was drugged unconscious before Raditz could leave... and he wasn't exactly dragging his feet either.

Nappa was right. Raditz didn't want to deal with this, he wanted to take off into space and have some fun. Vegeta had faith that he'd be better before the month was out, and that was what mattered. Relieved, Raditz easily ignored the quiet whimpering coming from the door behind him and went off to find Nappa. To each his own.

Another ten days of illness passed. For a while Vegeta was actually behaving—taking his meals when told, changing position in bed every few hours. There was always a voice at the back of his mind keeping track of the days with dread. He had tried to sneak out and train four more times... during meals, right before supper, at five in the morning... but was always caught. So he rotted in his bed, trying to get better as fast as he could before he ran out of time.

Vegeta almost melted with relief when, on the twentieth day, he woke up to cool sheets and only the mildest of headaches. His condition had peaked on day fifteen and he seemed well on his way to be getting better. Good. Looks like he wouldn't be cutting it close after all. Eager to get to the training center even before he ate breakfast, he barrelled out the door and smashed into the two soldiers stationed outside his hospital room.

"Let me through, I'm never coming back," Vegeta said as he tried to push past. Weren't these the same guys that had carried him out of the cafeteria _and_ had been stopping him when he tried to train? What was up with that?

"You aren't allowed out of this room until you've made a full recovery, Vegeta."

"I'm fine! I'm way better! The worst is over, see?" Vegeta gave a cough that sounded only a little scratchy and barely hurt. "Just step aside. I'll go slow today, okay? Just let me go for half an hour, I'll be right back, I won't tell anyone. How's that?" He hated how desperate he sounded but he couldn't help it... He didn't think they'd still be here...

"No," said the pale yellow one. "We have orders from Lord Freeza himself. The doctor will be here this afternoon to assess your condition. You aren't to leave until you've made a full recovery."

"Hey, hey, what are talking about?" Vegeta laughed nervously. "I told you guys, I'm good enough already." The two just shook their heads and mumbled "full recovery" again. Vegeta's expression darkened. "I guess you can say I'm too sick..." He drew back his fist. "... But I know I have enough strength back to take both of you down and step over your bodies. So get out of the way."

"In that case, Lord Freeza has a message for you," said the one covered in feathers. "He says this is your last chance. Resist any further and he'll kill you." A step forward. "Himself." Another. "While the planet watches."

Vegeta was just about to snap back when he imagined Lord Freeza saying those words. The dead look that must have been on his face. The group of soldiers he'd dragged out to Kazoo just to set an example.

The guards took advantage of Vegeta's weakness to get him back into the room. He just stood there for a long time, torn into inaction. After a while the glasses doctor came and drew blood. Then he told Vegeta it would take no less than ten days for him to be fully recovered.

 _T_ — _ten_ _days..._ the words rattled inside Vegeta's skull. That was exactly thirty days of inactivity. Also known as a month. They wouldn't let him argue anymore but they were cutting it _too close._ Thirty days.

"F—fine..." Vegeta said weakly. "But how about you let me go on the twenty ninth day? I'll _have_ to be well enough by then."

"No negotiating. In fact, you'll actually be released fifteen days from now." The doctor reached into his bag. "Orders from the top. I'll be putting you under so you'll wake up free to go. This way you won't have the mind to worry about training... it's probably prolonged your recovery, all that stress." He pulled out a syringe.

Vegeta jumped back so hard his head slammed against the bed frame. _This was it._ Oh god, it was actually going to happen... and to _him._ "N—no, please, you don't _understand_ what'll happen to me if—"

"Vegeta." One of the guards poked his head into the room. "That's enough. You're disobeying direct orders from Lord Freeza."

A chill ran down Vegeta's spine at the thought of Lord Freeza that distracted him just enough for Glasses to slide the needle into his arm.

 _Too late. Too late._ Vegeta let out a shaky breath as his eyes fluttered closed. He'd failed. He was weak after all. Now that he was fading away he didn't want to wake up. He couldn't stomach the thought of what he was going to turn into.


	16. Something's Wrong

Chapter 16

After being heavily sedated for fifteen days, Vegeta was released without a word. There was little fanfare, what with Nappa and Raditz being gone, and the young Saiyan showed up at the cafeteria alone.

Ronji gestured to the empty seat across from him. Vegeta seemed on edge as he walked over; he kept glaring at anyone who met his eyes. "So you're feeling better?" Ronji asked as he pushed a bowl of beef stew across the table.

"Uh huh. Has anyone said anything about me?" Vegeta looked over his shoulder.

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno, anything. No one's called me a wimp for being sick, right?" Vegeta glowered. "Because it _wasn't_ my fault."

"I haven't heard your name in weeks," Ronji said cheerfully. "By the way, I would have dropped by more than once, but I've been much too busy building the—"

"I don't want this," Vegeta said, wrinkling his nose at the stew. "I'm going to get something else."

Ronji watching him go. Didn't Vegeta realize that he had stew, and not slop, because Ronji had payed for it with his own Uni? And Ronji had _specifically_ bought it because he'd seen Vegeta happily eating it more than once.

When Vegeta got back, Ronji tried not to sound offended as he asked why the Saiyan suddenly preferred pizza to stew.

"It's too chunky," Vegeta said, happily scarfing down ten slices and leaving the crusts behind like bones. "The potatoes are good, but I hate turnips and carrots."

"Okay, fine," Ronji said, taking out a flask of mint extract and putting a few drops in the stew. That way it'd at least get eaten. "I'm sure you'll want to get back to work. I know I do. I'm _so close_ to completing the first scouter 2.0, so I'll be on my way." Ronji grinned to himself as he thought about taking a vacation once he was done... to an empty planet where he could be alone... and fill a lake up to the shores with mint and chocolate.

Vegeta tugged on Ronji's robes. "Hey. You're almost done with that new scouter? Can you read power levels from a distance yet?"

"Yes."

"I wanna know someone's power level." Vegeta's eyes darted around, but he didn't see him. "... Kiwi."

"Sure, as long as he's under 10,000. Stop by my quarters in an hour or so," Ronji said, leaving. "See ya."

Vegeta knew he should use this time to train... but he was still hungry... and it wouldn't hurt to spend a few minutes getting dessert, right?

Ronji had a system when it came to working. When he got to his room, he'd pick up the thing closest to the door and give it whatever brainstorming/building/testing/fixing it needed. Then he'd move on to the next closest thing, gradually making his way around in a spiral. All of his blueprints and prototypes were lying on the floor, yes, but there was an order to Ronji's workspace. The highest priority items were closest to the door. He liked physically progressing as he got work done, and reorganizing the room was a good excuse to get up on his feet and get his blood flowing.

Anyway, Ronji had moved ten feet down the spiral when Vegeta showed up.

"What's that?" he asked, eyeing the table-sized box wrapped in a blue screen.

"Oh, that? That's the mother. The boss. The smaller the scouter, the lower the max power levels it's capable of reading. I can't make one that goes up to 10,000 points smaller than that. It weighs half a ton. It'll be the one we'll use today." Ronji, on the floor, watched carefully to make sure Vegeta didn't step on anything on his way over. He had to stop him from crushing delicate sensors and instruments _five times_ just to travel five feet _._ "Since all of us have a DNA sample or two in Freeza's data vault, I was able to install a cell decoding program on this larger prototype."

"What?"

"This scouter knows whose power level is whose. But if you use anything handheld it'll just be empty readings with no name or race attached. I _think_ the signal changes a bit for cell type but I still have to test that." The scouter finished booting up. Its blue crystal screen flickered to life with names, numbers, and distances.

"Hold on, Freeza has my DNA?" Vegeta demanded, a little behind. "Oh, there's Kiwi. 9500?! Ha ha ha! That's great!"

"Huh?" Ronji was stacking all the broken scouters on top of the mother. He learned the hard way that scouters exploded if they tried to read a power level outside their capabilities. They were programmed not to scan Freeza, as well as Zarbon and Dodoria and various other bigshots.

"I've been away training for so long, I've gotta be stronger than that fish face. Which means I could be past 10,000! Now come on!" Vegeta sat up eagerly. "Where am I? I wanna see exactly how much better I am than him."

Vegeta couldn't stop fidgeting as Ronji narrowed the range. Then... "7000? I'm... _7000_ _...?!_ That's not possible! There's no way he _kept up_ with me while I was gone, let alone... _this!"_ Vegeta was silent for a mo', then he slowly turned to Ronji. "Oh, I see. Looks like you have to spend more time working on this thing, it's broken."

"My machine isn't wrong."

Vegeta smirked. "If you're gonna be such a baby and deny it, I'm not gonna encourage you. And I'm still gonna fight him, so you lost."

Ronji crossed his arms. What was going on? Had Vegeta forgotten that the main reason they got along was that they had nothing to do with each other? "I don't care if you fight Kiwi, I'm just saying he's stronger than you."

Vegeta actually covered his ears. "Yeah, whatever. Blah blah blah. Try to convince me I'm weak all you want, at least I'm not _this_ one. Power level 3. Wow. And it's in the room, too. Did an insect crawl in?"

"That's _my_ power level..."

The two stared at each other. Ronji wondered how much more of Vegeta's garbage he could put up with before he put him back in the hospital. (Vegeta was laughing) Then again... there was nothing he could do short of killing the Saiyan that a few hours in a healing tank couldn't fix. (Vegeta was still laughing) Imagine that, Ronji's own genius getting in his way. It was a tragedy...

"I never... knew you... you were so weak...!" Vegeta couldn't breathe, he was laughing too hard. "You're almost off the scale!"

"What's the big deal? I'm not a soldier."

"It's too pathetic! How can you stand yourself, when power is everything? Why did we eat at the same table? You're the weakest person I ever met!" Vegeta gave Ronji a mean-spirited punch on the arm on his way out. "I'm going for Kiwi. Don't tell anyone or I'll hurt you." Vegeta was out of the room before Ronji could hit the ground. Just his luck that he fell on his arm.

His newly broken-in-three-pieces arm.

If Ronji had been hesitant to kill Vegeta before, he was halfway through making plans now. It took him twice the normal time to walk from his room to the treatment center as he tried desperately not to jolt his broken arm. Every extra second was laced with mutters of revenge.

Ronji's senior position let him ignore the doctor's questions and be helped out of his robes straight into the nearest healing tank. But despite himself, he cooled off as soon as the breathing mask was over his mouth and nose. How could any scientist be upset while inside one of his creations? Ronji had hurt himself quite a few times while testing the healing tanks, but he'd never broken any bones. It was wonderful to experience the machine's capabilities personally.

The healing solution rose past Ronji's shoulders and he squeezed his eyes shut. His throbbing arm, now numb, left his thoughts and he quietly relaxed as the two hours that his medicine needed passed by.

*⁂*⁂*

 _Ronji visited Vegeta's hospital room for the first and only time while the young Saiyan was eating._

" _It's my_ _twelfth_ _birthday today," Vegeta said quietly, using a piece of bread to mop up the last drops of beef stew in his bowl._

" _Congratulations! I didn't get you anything. You wouldn't believe how busy I've been with the_ — _"_

"— _Scouters. Yeah, I know." Vegeta carelessly pushed his tray off the bed and rolled onto his side. "It's better if you work on the scouters instead of waste time on me. Besides, I already have a great present:_ _ **18**_ _**straight days of lying around doing nothing.**_ _Also, Nappa and Raditz ditched me to go on a mission... but I can't blame them for that."_

 _Ronji sat on the bed. "You must be going through hell. I haven't spent a day without mint and chocolate since I got here, and you've always been the same with training."_

 _Vegeta nodded. "I haven't stopped thinking about it since they locked me in this room. It's not even about being_ _ **bored**_ _anymore... at this rate... I... I haven't been recovering fast enough and I might..." His face turned red and he pulled the blanket over his eyes. "... Never mind."_

 _Ronji waited a minute in case Vegeta had more to say. When the siren's call of his laboratory became too haunting to bear, he got up to leave. He poked his head back in the room when he thought he heard a muffled voice, but Vegeta was asleep._

" _... Not myself..."_

*⁂*⁂*

Maybe something had happened to Vegeta that Ronji didn't know about. Maybe he drew the line at killing children. Maybe having a steady supply of mint and chocolate was making him too damn tolerant. For whatever reason, Vegeta had broken Ronji's arm and Ronji was now talking to Dodoria on the Saiyan's behalf _._

"What's the problem?" Dodoria gruffed. He was up to his head spikes in paperwork, an unforeseen and loathsome consequence of his high rank. Zarbon was a good guy and took more than his share, but any paperwork was too much for the pink Zibethian and it never failed to put him in a bad mood.

"It's Vegeta, he..."

"What did that little brat do this time?" There was murder in Dodoria's beady eyes. He, uh, actually hadn't met Vegeta before, but he knew he was bad news. He was Saiyan and a brat. The Freeza Force wasn't a place for brats and, nowadays, not for Saiyans either.

"He's acting weird... he wouldn't eat the beef stew I bought him and he wants to fight Kiwi..."

"Don't sound so weird to me."

Ronji knew how stupid he looked. But he couldn't find the words. Vegeta was just _off,_ somehow... the way he spoke and looked around... subtleties that would be lost on a brute like Dodoria.

After walking in the room, saying something about nothing, then standing around with that stupid puzzled look on his face, Ronji was losing favor with Dodoria fast. "You wasting my time? Get out of here and make your scouters. And close the door."

Ronji wandered out in a daze. Vegeta sure was a troublemaker... he ran away and _came back..._ then got sick for a month... and now...

He was picking a fight with another officer. "Oh no," Ronji muttered, before quickening his pace to Vegeta's usual training center. Fights in the Force weren't exactly rare, but he got the feeling someone with Vegeta's reputation should watch where they stepped.

Considering the thousands of points that separated them and the hour Ronji spent fixing his arm, you'd think Kiwi would have finished with Vegeta long ago. But the "fight" wasn't over yet, though it had gotten pretty one-sided as Vegeta had lost consciousness over ten minutes ago.

Kiwi was getting so bored with kicking the unresponsive Saiyan around that when Ronji got there he gave Vegeta up happily. "Tell him to find me anytime he wants more, as long as he can stay awake!" Kiwi laughed after Ronji as he dragged Vegeta away.

Ronji felt uneasy. So Vegeta really had believed his scouter was wrong. That was a first. At least it looked like he hadn't done too much damage... but what would he do next? Was he really just imagining things?

Ronji got Vegeta healed in an out of the way storage room with backup tanks. He wanted to be away from prying eyes. It took twice as long because Vegeta ripped the mask off as soon as he woke up, in the full tank, and Ronji had to emergency-drain all the fluid. And then start over. By the time Vegeta climbed out of the healing tank, Ronji was ready to deal with him.

"Was the scouter wrong after all?" Ronji asked, handing him a fresh battle suit.

"I already said I don't like you. You're too weak. Just give up already," Vegeta sniffed, taking the suit while looking away.

Ronji smiled through gritted teeth. "I'm not... trying to be friends with you... I just have some questions."

" _Why?"_

"I need more data for the scouter," Ronji said casually. "Otherwise it won't be able to record any changes in your power level."

"... Really?"

"Yep. First question! What's your favorite food?"

"Ice cream."

"Uh, non-desserts only."

"Oh. Then pizza."

"Drink?"

"Chocolate milk. Or orange juice."

"Pastime?"

"Going on missions, duh. But only fun ones."

"Any plans for the next few days?"

"..." Vegeta was getting suspicious. "What does this have to do with my power level?"

"Everything," Ronji lied. " _And_ I have to give these questions to everyone on the planet. It's such a thorn in my side that it's turning my hair white."

"Wasn't it always—"

"You didn't answer! Do you want to keep track of your power level or not? What are your plans for the next few days?" Ronji was actually looking forward to hearing Vegeta chatter on and on about training and planning missions again. It would help distract him from how eerily—

"I'm gonna buy a ton of chips and candy and eat it all at once! I can't believe I've never done that before. See, I have enough money now to eat whatever I want..."

All the simple, straightforward values Ronji liked about the Saiyan were gone. Well, they were still simple and straightforward... but they were about _food._ Ronji knew food purpose like no one else, and he could tell that this wasn't it. There was no meaning or real passion in what Vegeta was saying. Something had definitely happened to him when he was sick. But what was it...?

"What happened? You've been different since you left that room." Ronji said to Vegeta.

"Hmph. That's none of your business. Are you done with your dumb questions?"

"I'm trying to _fix_ you, you brat!" Ronji yelled, knocking his chair over. "Be grateful I'm putting my valuable time towards finding out what's wrong with you, instead of helping the whole Force!" Ronji knew what Vegeta was thinking before Vegeta himself did, and he was out the door before any more bones got broken. "Stupid little monkey, what happened to you?" Ronji muttered as he headed back to his room. He would try _one_ more thing, and if that didn't work he'd give up. He was just too busy. Let Freeza decide, for better or worse. No one saw a difference now, but Ronji was sure that would change. Vegeta just didn't seem like someone who belonged in the Freeza Force anymore. He was too _childish_.

That night, Ronji sneaked into the main control room. He'd never touched the rules, much less broken them, but even so he jammed the signal on all the computers in the area so his presence would go unnoticed.

Thing went smoothly. Ronji found the signals of Nappa and Raditz's space pods, still travelling to their assigned planet. He overrode the ships' programming, calling the two Saiyans back to 65 without waking them. If the two people who knew Vegeta best didn't have the answer, then there was nothing wrong to begin with. Ronji had just overestimated him.

Nappa and Raditz had been away for twenty one days. It would take them another twenty one to get back. Ronji and _this_ Vegeta didn't want anything to do with each other, so Ronji shut himself back in his room to work. His handheld prototype could pick up any power level under 5,000, but Freeza wanted the limit to be 10,000 before he started figuring out how to mass-produce it. If Ronji could do it, he was promised fifty pounds each of the highest quality mint leaves and cocoa beans Uni could buy. If he failed the punishment was, as usual, execution for False Advertising. Go big or go home.

Vegeta's daily routine was pretty much unchanged except: no vegetables, dessert after every meal, he only trained with people weaker than him (it was more fun), and he hadn't taken any steps towards hopping on a new mission. He just didn't feel like it. Any time he made eye-contact with Kiwi, Vegeta was always the first to look away. But he had one more plan that would prove himself superior, and he was going to carry it out very soon.

Running into the glasses doctor on his way back from lunch, Ronji learned that Freeza had extended Vegeta's recovery time to keep the Saiyan out of the way longer. Vegeta obviously was on thin ice. But there was nothing else a "weakling" like Ronji could do... Nappa and Raditz got back in three days anyway.

Vegeta was fully aware of his condition. He just didn't find it particularly relevant, considering he wasn't any different and he wasn't willing to go through what it took to change. Besides, tomorrow night he would prove himself.

You can imagine Nappa and Raditz's confusion when they stepped out not onto the chilly mountains of Midle, but right back onto 65's landing pad. In the middle of the night, no less.

"Guys, we have a problem," Ronji whispered from the shadows.

"With Vegeta?" The two Saiyans were perfectly in sync. "Is he acting different?" asked Raditz. "Like a twelve year old?" added Nappa.

That was promising. Ronji smiled, actually relieved. "How did you know? Let's get inside before we attract too much attention and then you can explain what the hell's going on."

It has been said before that Saiyan children are more advanced than other races. They learn faster and retain more. They also have an easier time seeing the consequences for their actions. Since Saiyans live in battle, they're quick to grow up and slow to grow old.

But these boosted abilities come with a small catch. The need for fighting and power that is ingrained in every Saiyan needs fuel. If a Saiyan under thirteen years of age goes for thirty days without any sort of battle or training, they lose their maturity and regress to whatever age they are.

Ronji took in all this information with fascination. What an interesting, interesting species. "Is there a way to fix it? I think he's started training again, but it doesn't seem to be helping anything."

"Just leave him," Nappa said, grinning wickedly. "There's nothing _we_ can do..."

"Nappa, it's your own fault you're scared of him," Raditz said. "Besides, it's not like he forgot. There _is_ a way, it's just—" Raditz cut himself off as _Vegeta_ ran through the intersection at the end of the hall.

"Why's he up?" Nappa asked, looking after him.

"Freeza's rooms are in that direction," Ronji supplied helpfully. "But he's probably going somewhere else."

"Knowing him, like this, that's exactly where he's going," Nappa was suddenly tense. "Raditz." The two Saiyans took off down the hall.

"Um, um, um..." Ronji ran in place and false-started twice, knowing Nappa and Raditz wouldn't be enough to stop Vegeta. They needed his help. But he was a useless 3 points... but his power level didn't matter, they needed his help. He took off in, luckily, the same direction.

Vegeta was at the door to the building Freeza slept in (or whatever he did at night) when he was tackled from behind. Nappa crushed him against the wall and pinned his arms behind his back.

"Nappa! Raditz! What are you doing here?!" Vegeta yelled, voice muffled by Nappa's quick-thinking and meaty forearm over his mouth.

"What are _you_ doing? Outside Lord Freeza's rooms? _In the middle of the night?"_ hissed Nappa, out of breath and heart pounding. He hadn't trained with Vegeta in years, but he knew his own strength and he knew Vegeta's style of fighting. If he applied himself and didn't underestimate, he could—

Vegeta forced Nappa away from him in one second through pure brute strength. He turned to the door but Raditz was in front of it now. " _Raditz, get out of the way,"_ Nappa said with such venom that Raditz yelped and dived for cover before Vegeta took a step forward.

Nappa and Raditz watched helplessly as Vegeta entered the building. "FREEZA!" shouted Vegeta, loud enough to wake the whole block. "I challenge you to a deathmatch! Winner takes the Freeza Force! Or should I say, the VEGETA FORCE! HA HA HA!"

Nappa and Raditz almost fainted with relief as Ronji advanced past them, pointing some sort of makeshift raygun at Vegeta and fast-talking into a comm in his other hand. They didn't know what Vegeta had been yelling, but they could guess and they owed Ronji their lives for whatever crackpot invention he was using that made Vegeta's voice silent.

Vegeta looked back and forth at the three of them, confused. Before he did anything else Ronji pulled some pizza and cartons of chocolate milk out of a bag and dumped them in the open doorway. "Just come back here, Vegeta," Ronji whispered as loudly as he dared. "I know you spent all your money on junk already. You haven't had chocolate milk in days, have you? Just take a little break and then you can do what you want. Just step outside this building."

Vegeta hurried over to the food without a word and began to eat. He didn't notice Raditz pushing him over until he was back in the soldiers' barracks.

"Can you _please_ tell me how to change him back?" Ronji turned to Nappa when they were out of earshot of Freeza's building. "I can't take much more of this."

Nappa, enjoying every second of Vegeta's dog-like behavior, was finally relaxed around the Saiyan Prince. "First get him to a full moon so he transforms. Then you gotta—"

"I'm not doing it, so leave me alone!" Vegeta cried suddenly, jumping up and forgetting about the pizza for a moment.

Nappa laughed loudly. "Go back to your junk and shut it, kid, I'm talking. Anyway, once he's in the Great Ape form you have to beat him within an inch of his life!" He had to yell over Vegeta's complaining. "Recovering from that shock will reset his physiology and he should be back to normal!"

"NO! I don't wanna get hurt... I don't see what the problem is! I'm still the same, aren't I?"

"Don't worry," Nappa said to Ronji. "If he was normal he wouldn't mind."

Ronji nodded, turning away. So they just needed to find someone strong enough to do the job. Would Kiwi be able to? How much stronger did Saiyans get after transforming?

A tap on Ronji's shoulder. It was Zarbon and Dodoria. "Perfect timing, I need you two to do me a favor," Ronji said, putting his hands on their shoulders.

"Ronji, what's going—"

"Shh. I know you don't believe me, but there really is something wrong with Vegeta. Only you two can help him. If you don't, it's only a matter of time before Freeza notices how _annoying_ he is and kills him."

"What—why—" Dodoria spluttered. "If he's going against Lord Freeza, we aren't helping him," Zarbon said. "In fact, after you tell us why you're making so much noise in the middle of the night I'll have to report you all."

"If you help us I'll let you both borrow the scouter for a day each! The beta version, before anyone else!" Ronji blurted.

"Hmm. I like the sound of that, but it's not enough."

"I'll... I'll... uh..." Ronji struggled. "... You can beat Vegeta up until he's almost dead..."

Zarbon blinked. "Well... what's wrong with him?"

"Zarbon! Dodoria!" Raditz cried, close to tears. "Help!"

It was only a matter of time, with Nappa's guard down like that. Vegeta had run out of pizza and Nappa didn't stand a chance. Vegeta had been attacking furiously during the whole conversation and Nappa was now bleeding out on the ground. He remembered that Vegeta kept his strength, but he had forgotten just how much strength it was. He hadn't fought Vegeta in five years.

"That's it," Zarbon muttered, striding towards them. "I should really tell Lord Freeza, but if I don't I get to take care of this myself." He snatched Vegeta off Nappa and turned to Ronji. "Where are we doing this?"

"The nearest planet with a full moon."

"I know just the place. Raditz, take care of Nappa. Ronji and Dodoria, come with me."

Arina was already processed and sold off, but oh well. A mile-wide meteor crater lay in the southern hemisphere, tourist spot by day, abandoned by night. Zarbon left their ship and stepped out to be bathed in red moonlight, courtesy of the planet's twin iron-rich moons. After the signal Dodoria stepped out too, easily keeping a struggling Vegeta in check with Ronji bringing up the rear.

"Hey, Vegeta," Ronji said softly, crouching down to be level with the spooked Saiyan. "Look up."

"No." Vegeta's eyes were screwed shut, his head ducked low. "No, no, no. You don't understand. They'll kill me, they don't care about making me better eventhoughI'mfine. I don't want to die, I want to go home. Ronji, I'm _sorry_ for what I said. Just get me out of here."

Ronji felt a little sick at hearing Vegeta beg. "Do it now," he said to Zarbon. Zarbon nodded.

"Dodoria, leave this to me."

" _Not you!"_ Vegeta, not knowing that Dodoria was more violent and generally took things too far, snapped his head up in a panic. "Zarbon hates me... the... most..." His jaw went slack as he soaked up the moonlight, reflected red in his wide eyes.

Ronji watched in awe as Vegeta was overpowered by the Saiyan transformation. The ground seemed to shake as this snarling animal jumped out of Dodoria's arms and writhed on the ground, stretching its suit and rubber armor to their limits. Within seconds the top of the beastly monkey's head poked out of the crater.

" _ **Oh no! I looked!"**_ The thing that used to be Vegeta roared, furry head in its hands.

"Ready to have some fun, Vegeta?!" Zarbon yelled as loud as he could. Vegeta jumped and frantically looked around for his opponent.

" _ **Yeah, I'll have fun ripping you to pieces!"**_ With no options left and the battle lust of the Great Ape form closing in on him, Vegeta was finally starting to sound like himself. Ronji and Dodoria settled down on the steps of the spaceship to watch the fight.

*⁂*⁂*

The next day Vegeta slept in. He'd spent the entire night in the treatment center, but Ronji's healing tanks couldn't fix his headache. Even when he slept it off he stayed in bed. He was stupidly embarrassed, of course. Between his whiny, undisciplined memories and the sluggishness that came with eating mostly sugar and bread for weeks, Vegeta just wanted to sleep more.

He got out of bed as soon as he remembered how out of shape he was from slacking on his training. And he'd been sick before that... so over seven weeks without a proper workout. Dammit. But after a session in the training center that left him barely able to stand, he felt worlds better. Life went back to normal like nothing had happened.

The day after normal

"Yeah, come in," Ronji said, hard at work at his usual spot, the floor.

It was Vegeta, holding in his hand some kind of potted plant. "I had just enough money in change left to buy this. Thanks for putting up with me for so long. I wouldn't have."

"It wasn't easy." Ronji took the plant. "What this? Oh! It's mint?" He sighed. "Sorry, but I only like it with chocolate." He made to give it back but Vegeta put his hands in his pockets.

"That's not my problem," he said over his shoulder as he left.

"By the way, congratulations on your new power level!" Ronji called after him. "7,900! This mess wasn't for nothing, huh? You Saiyans sure are fascinating!"

They both returned to their work, smiles on their faces. Ronji set the plant on top of his large scouter, now able to read power levels up to 12,000. On his way to the cafeteria, Vegeta passed Lord Freeza. He stopped walking and stood in place, looking away respectfully, as Freeza drifted by on his floating chair. He had wanted to fight him so badly. He still did. But he wasn't ready yet.

Vegeta sat away from Nappa and Raditz, not wanting to talk about anything that had happened in the last few days, but Raditz came over anyways.

"Here," he said, setting down a tray of food. "It's from Nappa."

Vegeta tried not to laugh as he saw right through Nappa's weak attempt to bribe him into... what? Leaving him alone? Nappa was probably terrified out of his mind that Vegeta was making plans to kill him after what he'd done years ago... and Vegeta didn't mind at all. Almost kill someone, they buy you lunch. It wasn't a bad life.

Vegeta tried to enjoy every bite of his last real meal before going back to the slop. He had absolutely no money left to buy anything good, and he wouldn't be asking anyone for charity. He needed to get himself a mission soon.

One of the robed non-soldiers stepped into the room. "Attention all! Anyone looking to take on an important task working directly under the Master Lord Freeza himself please see me after these messages! All applicants must be intelligent, able to use self-restraint, and have a power level no higher than 10,000! And now, onto the list of newly assigned training partners!"


	17. Hard at Work, Hard at Play

Chapter 17

" _Anyone looking to take on an important task... Applicants must be intelligent, able to use self restraint, and have a power level no higher than_ _10,000!_ _And now, on to the list of newly assigned training partners... Chōzan with Chōtō, Bruke with Shaize..."_

 _Important task? Sounds good,_ Vegeta thought as he happily finished off his salad. Yeah, his first mission on Planet Freeza 65 shouldn't be too run of the mill. He'd follow the non-soldier once he was finished eating and...

"... Kiwi with Vegeta. This concludes the daily-or-whenever announcements."

Vegeta barely got his head off the table in time to catch up with the leaving guy in robes. That settled it. He'd get off 65 like his life depended on it. Maybe he'd run away all over again. How did that fish manage to be such a parasite?

As a small group formed behind the robed one, a stone-faced Vegeta walked along with them. _I need to grow up. Yeah, Kiwi's annoying_ and _stronger than me, but that just means it'll feel_ amazing _when I surpass him. Like with Nappa. Oh yeah, I have to settle things with him soon... but now's not the time._

Still on the way to the conference center, Vegeta remembered how important training partners were. He'd forgotten about them ever since he got back and had been training alone for weeks. (Unless you count Raditz, but who would?) Putting up with Kiwi would be a nightmare, but he was sure to get a lot stronger for his trouble.

Putting up with Kiwi had apparently already begun, as Vegeta somehow ended up between him and Ronji. All the soldiers sat on one side, respectfully leaving half the table to the higher-ups. The only one who took a seat on the empty side was Lord Freeza himself. The group silenced in an instant, everyone waiting for their leader to speak.

"It has come to my attention," Freeza began, an eerie tightness to his voice, "that we are not the only planet processors around anymore." He paused to let the words sink in, the silence no longer awed but shocked and confused.

That morning, Planet 65's satellites had picked up an untraceable message that could have come from as far away as the other side of the galaxy. It was from a rival group, the so-called "Inba Corporation," and announced itself to be in direct competition with the Freeza Force.

"P—perhaps it was a joke, Lord Freeza?" A soldier with flowing blond hair and an ugly face spoke up. "A couple of stupid kids fooling around with a signal encoder, p—perhaps..."

"It's real. I'll ask you not to waste my time questioning established facts." Freeza sighed delicately. "There have been more than a few planets on our list that were discovered empty. Evidently these 'Inba' people have been hard at work."

"What do you need us for, Lord Freeza?" Kiwi asked. "You could easily destroy any planets involved."

"Hey, _partner,"_ Vegeta said, elbowing Kiwi. "I don't think we know where they are."

"You will all be put into groups and assigned an Inba-touched planet. Travel there and scour the surface for information. I'm trusting all of you to know what is and isn't useful. If you bring back meaningless garbage you will be demoted to a lower base. If you miss a clue to their whereabouts you will be killed. Questions?"

Ronji raised his hand. "Hey Freeza, is it true that one of the planets found empty was Monifo? I think it's two solar systems over from here."

Everyone watched in amazement as Freeza personally searched through files to answer Ronji who had spoken so casually. Vegeta wasn't surprised, that was one of the reasons why he and Ronji were friends.

"Yes, Monifo is on the list. What about it?"

"I wasn't planning on going, but I came here because I think I could make something to help. I won't get into the scientifics, but I've heard conditions on Monifo make it possible to detect movement and heat prints made in the past. I mean, it's never been done before, but I've always wanted to try. I might be able to build a machine that can display the movements that happened while the planet was being processed."

"Hmmm." Freeza smiled at Ronji, waiting for him to continue.

"It would show their activity, maybe even what direction they came and went."

"Yes, I'd like you to do that."

"Then... I was wondering if I could take a few days off from working on the scouters? Trust me, this machine will be very difficult to build and—"

"Of course you can't stop, Mr. Ronji. You've already committed. Since you made such a good suggestion, I'll have someone stay back for a week to assist while you complete _both_ projects. A week is more than enough time, isn't it?"

"Not at—"

"You'll make it work. And make sure it does work—you know what happens otherwise. Mr. Vegeta, Mr. Kiwi, wait for Mr. Ronji and take his device over to Monifo when it's completed. Give him whatever he needs. You three are dismissed, I'm going to assign planets to the rest."

"Why did I get stuck with _you?"_ Kiwi complained bitterly as he and Vegeta jogged to keep up with Ronji's long strides.

"Same age? Same height? To a monster like Lord Freeza, what's a thousand points difference?" Vegeta didn't know why he felt cheerful, considering he got saddled with Kiwi and this "important task" didn't involve any battle. But he could take the first few steps to repaying Kiwi for all he'd done, and maybe nip out to a nearby planet on the list in his spare time. He was curious about this rival group himself—as long as he got some exercise before and after, Vegeta could handle going on a fightless mission. "I'm surprised you're so upset," he said with a sneer. "Aren't you excited to poison me again? Or has your small brain run out of ways to kill your pride as a warrior?"

"I wouldn't have done it if I knew you were going to throw that temper tantrum," Kiwi shot back. "Remember the _beating_ I gave you? You're the one who's just talk."

"Oh yeah?" Vegeta stopped walking and squared up to Kiwi. Kiwi shoved him against Ronji's back, knocking both of them to the ground.

"You want me to show you who's better?" Vegeta challenged. Ronji got up and kept walking without a glance back, muttering calculations to himself.

"You already did when you tried to fight me before, but sure! If you want to lose that bad, how can I say no?"

"Where are we doing this?"

"The nearest training center, duh."

"I'll make you eat your words."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go."

Almost three hours later, the two kids went their separate ways without a word. The fight had been a contest, but both parties were too exhausted to decide who won. Now that Vegeta had his wits about him, Kiwi was faced with a tough opponent who just about made up for the difference in power with a calm, polished fighting style that wasted no movement. It had been a close match from start to finish.

As Vegeta cleaned himself up he was already buzzing with ideas on how to surpass Kiwi in both strength _and_ technique. It was too bad... he only kept up so well today because Kiwi couldn't keep a cool head and fought him like his power level was 5000 instead of 7600. He had to get stronger _fast,_ before Kiwi smartened up.

Vegeta couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten so much. He was hungry enough to eat twenty servings of slop, the only food he could afford. After supper he dragged himself over to check on Ronji. He hadn't seen him since he and Kiwi went at it.

The door was ajar. Ronji lay spread-eagled on the floor, eyes half open. Papers were scattered around, under, and on top of him. Vegeta kicked him in the side. His eyes rolled back and fluttered closed. "M... milkshake..."

"Wow, so I finally get to go in your secret room?"

"... Door's open... nnh..." Ronji wiped the sweat off his forehead. "... Ow..."

The week he arrived at 65, Ronji built a wall that stretched from one end of the room to the other. It was identical to the real walls, and the area it sectioned off was basically a short hallway barely wider than Ronji's shoulders. He'd somehow managed to fit a stove, fridge, freezer and cupboards back there, making it the smallest kitchen on the planet. It was there that Ronji handmade all of his mint chocolate creations.

After throwing milk and mint chocolate ice cream in a blender, and grudgingly following Ronji's orders to add real mint leaves and cocoa powder, Vegeta watched as Ronji came to life after the first mouthful. "Why does Lord Freeza always threaten you if you don't work the way he wants?"

"He likes me," Ronji grinned around the rim of the glass. "Freeza can't bear the thought of any of my amazing ideas not working out, so he wants to motivate me and make sure I come through with all of them."

"But if you're that valuable, isn't saying he'll kill you an empty threat?"

"Oh, I'm sure he means it," Ronji said, setting the empty cup off to the side. "He's the kind of person who'd rather lose an asset than be defied, isn't he? But he doesn't need to bother scaring a man who's faced a fate worse than death. I'd never disappoint Freeza, I like it here too much. Anyway, back to work!" Ronji stood up. "There has to be a way to finish the scouter and this past map thing in time."

Vegeta got up to leave.

"Oh, Vegeta?" Ronji grinned sheepishly. "Since you're here on my behalf I have to ask you for a favor."

"What is it?" Vegeta sighed.

"Please make me chocolate cupcakes with mint icing tomorrow morning at around... eight. I can walk you through it. I'd do it myself but there's just no time and—"

"Fine, fine," said Vegeta. "I owe you one and I'm here to help, so don't worry about it."

*⁂*⁂*

After taking two hours struggling to follow Ronji's instructions to make cupcakes that the scientist ate so fast he couldn't have tasted, Vegeta tracked Kiwi down.

"Can you cook?" Vegeta, who could not, demanded.

"A little, but—"

"Lord Freeza told us to help Ronji and he _needs_ it. I don't know what he's doing, but he stayed up all night working and he needs a lot of food to compensate. I want to find out what happened to those planets."

"What does he like to eat?"

"Anything with mint and chocolate." Vegeta paused, the concentration emanating from Ronji's room almost palpable. "It's probably the only thing he'll eat now."

For the next two days, Kiwi and Vegeta threw together any combination of mint and chocolate Ronji could think of.

"Mint chocolate fudge."

"Peppermint bark."

"Candy canes dipped in chocolate."

"Mint chocolate chips! The whole bag! _Now!"_

"Mint leaves dipped in chocolate!"

"Mint leaves sautéed in cocoa butter!"

Vegeta and Kiwi worked together for as long as they could stand it, then took breaks to beat each other up. Ronji only stopped working to use the washroom, or yell at them for getting the proportion of mint to chocolate wrong. Vegeta snuck away for three days to a nearby planet and took care of one of the continents. His scratched armor and torn battlesuit got him a bonus scowl from Kiwi when he returned.

Two days to go, and Ronji was dead on his feet. He still hadn't slept or taken any breaks that weren't minty. His eyes were bloodshot and his long ears drooped. But the floor was piled high with scouter parts upon which rested one glorious prototype and a dictionary-sized, sensor-covered past map was nearing completion.

"Is the first scouter ready?" Vegeta asked, a smile growing on his face.

"Y... yeah... been reading power levels all morning..." Ronji yawned. "Only now... all those numbers got stuck in my head... and the only thing this version can do is read power levels... should be good 'nuff..." Vegeta went to pick it up. "Don't touch it! I—I mean you can, but I need something first... something stronger..."

At Ronji's request, Vegeta filled a large glass almost to the brim with pure peppermint extract and dropped in an entire bar of baking chocolate. The fumes made Vegeta's sensitive nose go numb and he had to give it to Ronji with his shirt over half his face.

As Ronji somehow chugged the toxic concoction, Vegeta put on the scouter. It fit around his left ear with a tinted glass screen that curved in front of one eye. With a press of a button on the side, the screen lit up with numbers. Vegeta turned and a cross-hair settled around Ronji. _**3.**_ He stuck his head out into the hall, pressing the button for each soldier that walked by. _**5526\. 2405. 10379.**_ A slow shiver ran down his spine. This was history in the making.

Vegeta ripped the scouter off. He couldn't handle it. It was too weird... he could know anyone's power level without asking them. There would be no more scheduled tests to measure power. No more clunky boxes of metal that needed to be hauled around during missions. _Shiver._

"I—I have to go," Vegeta stuttered. "Tell me when you finish the past-map." Ronji, coked to the gills and rushing around, didn't answer.

Two weeks later

Vegeta and Kiwi chilled in the cool mists of Monifo.

"Where—where did that scientist say he wanted this thing?" Kiwi shivered, clutching the device Ronji called a "past-map."

"Follow me," Vegeta yelled over his shoulder, already in the air.

"Why do I have to follow you? I'm your superior officer."

"Really?" Vegeta turned around. "Try giving me an order."

"Let me go first, you stupid monkey."

"Oh no! Your power level is kind of higher than mine so I _have_ to do what you say!" Vegeta cried, then hit the past-map out of Kiwi's arms. He swooped underneath it, caught it, and rocketed away.

Vegeta found himself over an empty city that was barely visible in the fog. "You know I'm faster than you," Kiwi said next to him. "Just give me the thing."

"I don't want your oily hands on it. They might clog up the sensors." Vegeta landed next to a giant metal sphere in the middle of the road. "Ronji says any heavily populated area's good."

"Who cares? I wanna know why you're such a little brat. Who died and made you king?"

"My father."

Back at home, a recovering Ronji watched Vegeta and Kiwi begin to fight on the past-map receiver. This was the moment of truth. Sipping his third milkshake of the day, Ronji reversed the stream.

The yellow blobs of Vegeta and Kiwi took off and flew back towards their spaceships, one of them holding the very past-map that was sending all this. Then silence. No readings of any sort.

Ronji froze as his life flashed before his eyes.

A Monifese flying blob, probably a bird of some kind, landed on the metal sphere. Ronji relaxed again. Then he realized the past-map was going back in real time. He snatched Monifo's file and flipped through it.

The last recorded sign of life on Monifo was twenty one months ago.

Ronji sighed. Hopefully Freeza was okay with waiting a while.

*⁂*⁂*

"More than a year?!" Vegeta cried, falling amongst Ronji's notes and blueprints and doodles. "We worked so hard to get it done in a week for this?"

"That's theoretical science for you." Ronji shrugged and ducked into the mint room. "Would you like some brownies with mint sauce?"

"Why do you always give me your mint stuff?" Vegeta asked suspiciously, even as he took a plate and a glass of milk. "You never share with anyone else."

"I like you," Ronji said, smiling. The two of them chewed in silence for a few minutes on the still-warm brownies. Their unexpected pocket of downtime gave the lab a snow-day quality. "What's it like to kill?" Ronji asked suddenly.

"I used to think about that," said Vegeta, his mouth full. "I didn't kill anybody until I was five years old. Crazy, right?" He paused, a dark look on his face. "And I didn't fight until I ran away from this place... I was almost eight."

"You killed people years before you fought anyone?"

"... Fight to the death, I mean," Vegeta corrected, reluctantly.

"I remember when I realized I had to leave my planet," Ronji said, sucking mint sauce off his fingers. "I was the greatest scientist Kaimon had ever had. I saved billions of lives. But they wouldn't let me leave. I'd never killed anyone before, but I knew that was the ticket to getting off."

"How many?"

Ronji shook his head and laughed. "Two, I guess. Threats really go a long way. That's something that Freeza's known for years."

"Lord Freeza. Did you know he's my rival?" Vegeta asked brightly. "Once I'm the strongest in the Force I'm gonna fight him. Then I'm gonna find the strongest person in the galaxy. By then, at the rate you're going, I'll go to a different galaxy that nobody's been to before. And I'll get the Freeza Force—it's gonna be the _Vegeta Force_ by then, to go ahead of me and tell everyone who has ears that I'm here. Waiting for them to challenge me. Nappa and Raditz will probably be dead by then. But I won't _care_ if my race dies out with me, because every planet in every galaxy will remember the Saiyans—no, _me_ —as the strongest there ever was."

"I'm going to eat mint and chocolate until I die," Ronji said, an equally dreamy look on his face.

With so much talk of the future, Vegeta was in the market for a real extermination campaign in the meantime. And who should he find in the mission-briefing room but a certain Saiyan. Why not kill two birds with one stone?

"Hey, Nappa, what a coincidence! Why don't we do a mission together? I've barely seen you since I got back—we have a lot of catching up to do!"


	18. Rightful Place

Chapter 18

Things were going fine. Vegeta and Nappa reached their chosen planet, "Gegecky," after ten months of travel.

"I turned thirteen on the way here... now I can go without fighting for more than a month. But not like any Saiyan would want to, huh? Ha ha ha."

A very subdued Nappa only grunted. Someone like Kiwi would have heated up and demanded a response, but Vegeta found it delicious to be avoided. He could _smell_ Nappa's fear of him. It smelled like power. Vegeta wanted to drag this out more. He wouldn't give any orders, and he _definitely_ wouldn't plead that Nappa gave him his share first. He wasn't six anymore.

Spotting a village, Vegeta got an idea. He requested _(maybe_ ordered, but it didn't count) that Nappa wait on the outskirts while he slowly made his way in. Luckily it was night, so no one noticed the local he pulled off the streets and killed... _and_ Vegeta was justified in wearing his new coat. He fastened it tightly, concealing any sign of the distinctive armor he wore, and headed for a night café.

"'Fraid we don't serve anyone with black hair, kid," the bouncer at the door muttered, twirling the half moustache that grew under his right nostril.

"That's OK. I just wanted to know if you—or anyone—" Vegeta said, raising his voice to the rest of the café, "have heard of the Inba Corporation."

"Inba?" a nearby waiter spoke up. "Of course we all know about—"

"Why haven't you started yet, Vegeta?" Nappa growled, kicking down the door. "Has spending too much time with that airhead scientist made you forgotten your place in the Freeza Force?"

Vegeta clenched his teeth. "No, I was just trying—never mind, you're hopeless. Go. Fight them all." Even if he hadn't name-dropped Lord Freeza, Nappa's armor was a dead giveaway. These people obviously knew where the Saiyans came from by the way they were already cowering in the corner.

While Nappa started to tear the room apart Vegeta wondered where to go from here. He didn't really want to be the prince of only Raditz... hmm. Raditz was weak, nothing he could do about that. And Nappa lost his temper... Should Vegeta train him? Take him under his wing and show him patience? See how far he could go as a teacher?

No, too sentimental. Vegeta looked up and saw that Nappa was having trouble. He walked up and pushed the older Saiyan aside, hard enough that he smashed through the wall.

Nappa had just rolled to a stop in the dirt outside when the café exploded, the purple blast reaching almost fifty feet in the air. A single figure climbed out of the wreckage. "Nappa?" No native Gegeckians followed Vegeta.

Nappa ran.

Vegeta grinned as Nappa booked it back to their spaceships. A chase? A decisive chase to get the blood flowing? Sounded like fun. Like an appetiser. He gave Nappa just enough time to start up his pod before following. Why not make it a space chase? Nappa had a five second head start, but the two ships took off simultaneously.

The eerie silence of space travel turned Nappa's panic into dread. Vegeta was going to kill him. Ever since the prince landed on 65, Nappa had thought through each and every thing he'd done to make Vegeta unhappy. There was no bigger hate crime committed against a Saiyan than being prevented from fighting. Nappa had known Vegeta wouldn't be so helpless forever, he had known he was digging his own grave... but he couldn't help himself.

He had been so happy.

Nappa's space pod slowed a little, no destination programmed. "Just get me out of here," he mumbled, leaning back against the headrest. He didn't want to be killed by a spoiled kid. He didn't want to be outranked by a little snot who didn't stick up for himself when the going got tough. A _real_ Saiyan wouldn't have let Nappa kick him around...

Nappa fell against the glass window as the whole spaceship jolted to a halt. He would have thought Vegeta had ran their spaceships into each other, but there was no turbulence from any collision. Slowly, Nappa opened his eyes.

In the few seconds Nappa's pod had dropped out of top speed, Vegeta had circled around, timed it so he stood on his spaceship's open door (within the safe zone that Ronji had developed to fill one of his weekly invention quotas!) as his ship came into Nappa's ship's path, and _stopped_ Nappa's ship in midflight with his two hands.

The two pods drifted in the blackness. Vegeta's feet were jammed under a panel, anchoring him in place. A glow above him caught his attention; it was the nearest livable planet Nappa's pod had been drawn to without a programmed destination. " _Perfect."_ The vacuum of space between the two Saiyans stole Vegeta's words, but Nappa knew that gleeful look on the Saiyan prince's face all too well. Vegeta spun Nappa's ship so the window was facing away from him and pulled one foot free.

The spin Vegeta put on his kick sent Nappa tumbling through the planet's atmosphere, unable to touch the pod's controls.

"Ow ow ow!" Vegeta, stupidly deciding to just pull his spaceship after him as he followed Nappa, twisted his ankle as the ship suddenly left zero gravity. He stopped in midair just under the atmosphere, his whole ship hanging from his left foot. "Stupid thing," he muttered, fumbling with the metal panel. His hand slipped and the whole pod fell after Nappa, taking Vegeta's boot with it.

Nappa sat on top of his ship, staring off into the distance at some sort of tribal war that happened to be going on. A meteor fell in the middle of the battle, no, Vegeta's spaceship, and the Saiyan himself soon followed. Vegeta was thrilled to land on top of a fight and let himself get distracted by taking on both sides.

Nappa felt insulted that Vegeta was ignoring him, yet strangely happy at this Saiyan display. None of them thought about it too much, but it got a little lonely being the only Saiyans left in the Force, especially with their differences in power. No one else seemed to share their love of battle, but who could compete with the nicknamed "warrior race" of the universe?

Finally Vegeta flew over to Nappa. Nappa couldn't stomach running again from a thirteen year old with a missing boot (lost in the confusion), but he knew he couldn't win in a fight. He didn't know Vegeta's current power level, but the ease with which he destroyed the café-goers, who Nappa couldn't land a punch on, made the situation clear. Nappa grudgingly admired the pile of bodies in the distance. He wasn't running, he wasn't fighting, and he didn't feel like begging for his life. "... Do whatever you want, kid."

"I want to team up. Let's do missions together from now on."

"Y—you mean a partnership?"

"Sure, why not? Two heads are better than one."

Nappa almost fell off his ship. Could it be... Vegeta needed help? The galaxy was awfully big for a kid, no matter their power level. Maybe Vegeta had been scared when he ran away. Got into some tough spots. Realized he didn't have what it took to do things alone. "There's not too much shame in asking for help if you need it, Vegeta. Especially since you're a member of the royal family."

"What do you mean?" Vegeta asked, smiling curiously. Nappa was getting the wrong idea, he could already tell.

"That's right!" Nappa snapped his fingers. "You're too young to know. But even so... you never wondered why they didn't give you a single fight even when you were four years old?"

"Of course I did. But they said I needed to study and have a stronger mind. And I agree. I am the prince, after all."

Nappa laughed. "You keep saying that. But I don't think you know what the royal family stands for."

Vegeta pushed Nappa into the dirt. "Stop _running in circles_ and tell me what your point is! A lowly guard doesn't know more about my own family than I do."

"I'm twenty years older than you. Of course I know more." Nappa dusted himself off. "There's no _glory_ or _pride_ belonging to the royal family. We normal Saiyans give them respect because they deserve it. They've lost so much."

" _What. The hell. Are you. Talking. About,"_ Vegeta snarled.

"They stayed on Planet Vegeta to run things and represent the Saiyans. They let everyone else go off and live the Saiyan dream under Lord Freeza's rule while they stayed out of the front lines to do the paperwork. The first king volunteered because he was too _weak_ to fight. The whole family is _weak._ You were the exception. It's not normal for a Saiyan child to surpass his father at six hundred points, Vegeta. What's more, I'm sure all those generations of stay-at-home-monarchs in your blood dulled your instincts a little, so I'm happy to help you as long as I get my share."

Vegeta closed his eyes. "Are you making any of this up?" Nappa shook his head. "You better be telling me the truth." He took a slow breath in, out, and moved on. "Like I was saying, I want us to team up. Call us partners if you want. But _I_ call the shots. You don't fight unless I tell you to. You follow my orders over anyone else's, even—"

"Vegeta, I know hearing all this was embarrassing but just being the prince doesn't give you the authority to—"

" _ **SHUT UP."**_ The entire area the two Saiyans stood in exploded. As dust blotted out the sun and charred dirt and gravel rained down all around them, Vegeta walked towards Nappa. "Shut your _ugly face."_ He grabbed Nappa's head with both hands and pulled him down. "Look around, idiot," Vegeta spat. "I'm the only surviving member of the royal family. I'm also strong enough to _crush your jaw_ right now, so don't tell me my authority! I make the rules now. And I'll take pride in what I like. Got that?"

Nappa nodded silently, all ten of Vegeta's small fingers digging into his skin painfully.

"Good. You've been dancing on the tightrope between overprotective guard and traitor for a long time. I got stronger, I don't need a guard. Are you gonna switch to traitor now?"

"... No..."

"What are you gonna be?"

"... A loyal subject?"

"Good. But drop the 'subject.' I'm not putting up with any royalty garbage." Vegeta let Nappa go. "Just be loyal and take my words over anyone else's."

"Even Lord Freeza?"

"Even Lord Freeza."

"So why—"

"I'm not done," Vegeta snapped. "You don't _understand._ I wasn't always going to let you live. If you ever ignore my orders, no matter what Lord Freeza says, you're dead."

"V—Vegeta, I get it. I've worked under superior officers before."

"Okay. I just want to make sure you know one last thing. The _second_ you stop being useful... I'll kill you myself. Understand?"

"... Of course..." Nappa leaned against the spaceship to steady himself. His heart was beating out of his chest. It's okay... he was still alive. "So is it just the two of us?"

"No, Raditz is still staying. I might give him a talk... but I might not. He hasn't been as much of a pain as you have." Vegeta punched Nappa on the arm, friendly but it hurt.

"What about Ronji? You spend so much time with him. He isn't strong, but his inventions... they're something else."

"Pfffff. He isn't Saiyan. Besides, death threats won't work on him. He already has a whole plan for how he wants to die. And he only follows whoever gives him mint and chocolate... Lord Freeza has me beat there. We're just friends."

"Uh, anyway..." Nappa looked at the ground. "... Thanks for sparing me."

"I just can't believe you didn't have the foresight to see that I'd get stronger than you," Vegeta said, shaking his head with a laugh. "I'm not four years old anymore. And I'm not going to stop."

Back at 65, Vegeta's form was finally completed. _Vegeta. Rank: Soldier. Race: Saiyan. Height: 3' 8". Age:_ _13_ _. Training partner: Kiwi. Mission partner: Nappa._ Though he'd have to find a way to get his rank from "Soldier" to "Lord" before he turned eighteen. It wasn't good enough.

"The two of you finally became partners, huh," said Kore, the furry mission controller. "It's easier than going at it alone."

"Yeah... looks like he finally grew up," Nappa said. Vegeta gave him a look before leaving. They both knew where things stood.

Nappa watched Vegeta go, things settled at last. No choice now but to grit his teeth and bear this new development. If he was lucky, this was the way it was supposed to be all along. Vegeta might be controlling and angry, but soon he wasn't going to be a kid anymore. Never mind that, ever since he got back he just seemed more _Saiyan._ More confident. He practically smelled different.

Anyway, as long as he got to fight, Nappa was happy.


	19. Romance Dusk

Chapter 19

Even after all that, Vegeta still ditched Nappa on 65 to take another mission by himself. He wanted to properly go undercover and ask a local race about Inba. He also wanted to be the only one doing it—a quick ask around revealed that no more progress had been made in solving the mystery. Most of the stolen planets were far from 65, so the soldiers Freeza sent were either still travelling or just beginning their investigation. Ronji's past-map had a month to go before anything would turn up.

It had been over a year since Inba had announced themselves, so Vegeta took off alone the day he and Nappa returned. His chosen planet, "Highlets," was seventeen days away. Common power level 25. It was one of the last untouched planets less than a month away from a Freeza Planet, but more importantly, it was the source planet for the very Haka rays that Ronji's scouters used to take power levels from a distance. If this planet was in Freeza's hands, scouters could potentially read much higher power levels. The planet's residents, Gwiffs, were blissfully unaware of the value of their home. They were unaware of many things: that they all had the same hairstyle... the correct way to respond to the phrase "What's up"... the efficiency of chilling juice with juice ice cubes instead of water ones...

Vegeta wore a sweatshirt over his armor and made sure to park his spaceship on the outskirts of town. Just for fun, he tried to brush his hair into a quiff, the local style. He slipped out onto the streets, making his way to the crowded town square. No one looked twice at him, so mission success.

As the Gwiffs went about their business, Vegeta hoped this wasn't a dead end. He had already gotten a Gwiff's attention when the rumbling started. It stopped everyone in their tracks, including Vegeta. They all looked to the sky as a handful of spacecrafts entered the planet's atmosphere.

"Is it them? ... It's them! ... Oh my, we're dead..." Whispers came at Vegeta from all sides.

"Are they with Inba?" Vegeta asked, heat coursing through his veins as rage at his enemy battled with joy at being able to take them on personally.

"Inba? I wish... we've been on the list forever," a Gwiff next to Vegeta answered as the ships descended into view. There were five of them, each big enough to hold at least twenty passengers. "No, these invaders are—"

"We are the Moon Boots pirates," a bright voice on a speaker boomed above them, "and we've come to suck up all your Haka rays!"

"Haka rays?" Vegeta frowned, pulling the mission briefing out of his pocket and flipping through it. "Haka rays... Haka... hmm..." Oh. That was why _he_ was here, at least on paper.

With a sigh, Vegeta lifted off the ground and flew up to meet these "pirates." Drawing closer, he saw their ships were a bit more boxy than the round ones he was used to, with a strange design painted on the sides and bottoms. Some kind of cartoon skeleton wearing a pair of boots. He opened the external door on the largest ship and climbed inside. Giving the group of aliens waiting in the entrance the evil eye, he pushed past them. Now that he was away from the Gwiffs he didn't have to worry about blowing his cover.

"If this is a pirate ship, where's your captain?!" Vegeta yelled at the top of his lungs as he made his way through the spaceship.

"You found me, kid." A black-haired man came out from behind a corner. He was highly Saiyanoid, other than his eyes being too round, his scent was wrong, and his lack of a tail of course. His mouth had scars on it that made it look like it had been sewn shut at some point. "But how'd you get up here?"

"I flew."

" _Flew?_ At your age? Amazing!" The man stuck out his hand. "My name's Grey Z. Serb. Nice to meet'cha!"

"Vegeta." He ignored the hand. "Great, now that we're friends you can turn all these ships around and leave this planet alone."

"I know you locals must be scared, but we aren't going to hurt you, we just want—"

"The Haka rays, yeah, I know. That's the problem. See, I'm not from around here. I'm with Lord Freeza, and _he_ wants these rays for himself."

"Whoa! _Lord Freeza?"_ Serb grabbed Vegeta's shoulders. "The only reason we came here is because we heard about his scouters! We want to make our own. Is he here? I'd love to meet him."

"'Love to meet him?' Are you being serious?" Vegeta shoved Serb's hands off him. "He'd kill you on sight!"

"What? He would?" Serb scratched his head, confused. "I'm from a small planet on the other half of the galaxy, so I've only heard his name once or twice. But he sounds cool."

Vegeta's eyes widened in amazement. "Only once or twice, even in the second half? Wow. Good for you, have a safe ride home." He turned to leave.

"Thanks! Do you want to help us gather the waves?"

Vegeta turned back. "You haven't taken the hint?"

"What hint?" Serb smiled innocently.

"This planet belongs to the Freeza Force. I'm going to kill all of you if you don't leave. I wasn't going to bother with the locals, but after I'm done with you maybe I'll finish them off as well."

Serb's face fell. So the Freeza Force was _that_ kind. "And you'll start with me because I'm the captain."

"Yeah..." Vegeta grinned wickedly. "But mostly because you're in front of me." He took a step closer. "Get ready."

Thirty seconds later, Vegeta was reaching terminal velocity after getting thrown out of the ship. Serb, surprisingly strong, had whipped out a pair of handcuffs and locked them around Vegeta's wrists in the blink of an eye. A trap door opened, he fell right through the spaceship, and here he was. Vegeta wasn't at the level where materials could stop him, but these handcuffs were different.

He couldn't fly anymore.

The ground was coming up fast. Vegeta twisted around in midair until he was falling feet-first and landed without a problem. All of the Gwiffs were too busy preparing to fight the pirates to ask Vegeta how he was fine after falling hard enough to crack the pavement.

As Vegeta struggled with the cuffs that rattled like they were about to fall apart but still held fast, the pirates finally landed. It looked like they weren't peaceful after all, which _might_ be Vegeta's fault. He felt out of it. He wanted to blow the entire fleet away but he couldn't summon any _chi._ What was with these handcuffs? He should have brought Nappa.

Kicking was obviously the best strategy; it was ineffective and humiliating to try to elbow people to death with both his hands trapped. But he was having trouble keeping his balance. His arms stuck out awkwardly, dead weight that made it harder to stand up straight. It wasn't even a big deal... he wasn't falling over, he just kept ending up in a different place than he wanted, or having to take an extra step to cut his momentum. But to someone like Vegeta, someone who'd never dealt with any sort of handicap, this style of fighting was uncomfortable. It was making him lose confidence, even.

Vegeta let himself be pushed down in the mud. He needed to straighten up and fly right. He stayed on the ground for a minute, absentmindedly rolling back and forth to dodge the three pirates attacking him, and thought hard.

 _Whatever these handcuffs are doing to me, I feel fine. I just can't fly. So that means..._

The attacks had stopped. Someone pulled Vegeta to his feet. Making sure he wasn't hurt, the group of Gwiffs that got rid of the three pirates went back to the battle.

Vegeta found himself running to their side. Was he on their side? None of the Gwiffs knew who he was. Well... why refuse an army if you were in a pinch? Vegeta had never fought with a team of more than three. Vegeta had also never defended a planet alongside its locals... What a first. To make things a _little_ more interesting, he decided to kill at least half of the pirates himself. He wasn't going to be beaten by a few twenty-fives, handcuffed or not.

Vegeta could have broken the handcuffs at any time. Now he didn't necessarily _know_ this... he'd tried before and it hadn't worked... but he just wasn't used to fighting without _chi_. Space prism handcuffs stole most of it from the wearer, leaving them only with physical strength. It shouldn't affect basic hand-to-hand combat, but it took some getting used to.

Or maybe Vegeta knew he could escape, but he was having too good a time racking up more kills than anyone else while only using his feet like a chef who didn't want to damage his cooking hands.

The epic mêlée went on for all of seven minutes before Vegeta finally found Grey Z. Serb. The handcuffs cracked apart, having been destroyed by the shockwaves of his attacks.

Serb took one punch. He almost got knocked down but stayed on his feet, so Vegeta estimated him to be around 5000. Not too bad.

Another hit brought the pirate to his knees. He coughed up some blood. "This isn't a fight."

"You're right, it's not," Vegeta said, sweating in his hoodie and armor underneath. The sun was setting but it was getting a little hot. "... But I'm pretty sure that's your problem."

"Dammit!" Serb hit the ground in frustration. "I was going to be King of the Space Pirates..."

"Well, here's a hint..." Vegeta pulled off his hoodie. "See this armor? Rubber armor like this is really good at stopping blunt force. It's all over for you now, but maybe there'll be some to steal in hell." Just like Vegeta thought, the pirate couldn't make it past the third blow.

"Now!" Vegeta said, turning to the exhausted Gwiffs. "Where was I? Oh right, does anyone know anything about the Inba Corporation?"

"Y—Yeah..." one Gwiff in a curly-cue coat mumbled. There was something a little... creepy... about this kid. He'd killed most of the pirates himself. He didn't look tired, he was almost... hyper. And there was something familiar about that strange armor he was wearing... "Are you not from around here or something?"

"Oh, I'm from the town over. Tell me about about Inba." The kid had a little smile on—a quirk of the lips, really—as he spun around and looked for answers.

"... All right. But it's strange that you called them the Inba _Corporation_ , because—"

" _Hey!_ There's one of Freeza's spaceships just outside town!" someone cried off in the distance. "One of his thugs must be on the planet!" Everyone turned back towards the short kid who couldn't be older than thirteen.

Cover blown. Oh well, they'd probably tell him right before they died.

A little over a month later

Vegeta finally got back to Planet 65. He was tired and in a bad mood from processing an entire planet of people that weren't just weak, they wouldn't talk. His time on Highlets was only good for skipping forward to the very day Ronji's past-map finally had something to report, according to his spaceship timer.

It was late evening in the Force. After only two servings at supper (having friends meant making sacrifices), Vegeta ended up at Ronji's room. He found the Kaimonese crouched in front of a monitor, his fluffy hair a mess from stress. Vegeta moved him out of the way so he could see.

The past-map's images were rough, just orange blobs that jumped around like stop motion, but the scene playing out was clear. "They're... taking the locals with them?"

Ronji nodded slowly. "Right before they landed, all the locals gathered on the street. They've been getting everyone into the spaceships for almost an hour."

Vegeta drummed his fingers against the floor. "Is this everything?"

"No... one of the investigating soldiers sent a report back this morning."

"What was it?"

"All of the houses were intact, mostly untouched, but there were no valuables around. No money, no jewelry, nothing."

"Huh." Vegeta stood up. "Ronji, I think you better come with me..."

*⁂*⁂*

"... This is getting a little dangerous," Ronji whispered, unlocking the door to a special room. "We haven't asked anybody if we can be here. This is the kind of thing Freeza kills people for."

"If I'm right... We have to find out, and _soon._ We have business here. We're not being careless." They were in the cramped, darkly-lit "Master Control Room." This was the place that could cut off the planet's airflow, or send messages across the galaxy. There was probably a self-destruct button or two lying around. Because of the room's capabilities, soldiers weren't allowed in and Ronji only got a key recently. This wasn't a room to be taken lightly.

"You said this room has gene sensors, right?"

"Let me double check. What are you thinking, Vegeta?"

"The mission I just did was weird. At first I thought it was a waste of time, but then I remembered something... I asked about Inba, didn't get far, but one of them said... 'Inba? I _wish._ '"

"The sensors are just for collecting data about this planet. They aren't meant to be long distance."

"Try it anyway."

Vegeta and Ronji stared up at a giant screen with a grid of the galaxy on it. As Ronji entered commands into the computer, the planets labelled on the grid disappeared. Vegeta held up the list of missing races and their genetic codes. Once everything was programmed in, Ronji waited a second before pressing "go."

All the lights went out.

Vegeta ran out into the dark hallway. A look out the window. All the buildings, the horizon, everything, all of it was black. The only things to be seen were the stars shining above the invisible planet.

In the room Ronji stared at the screen as, one by one, dots lit up on the grid. He muttered to himself as Vegeta blindly felt his way back. "Monifese... the Ally people... Haean... even Danian... all alive."

Vegeta opened his mouth to speak but the door slammed open, knocking him to the ground.

" _WHAT IS THIS?!"_ It was Zarbon and he was a little upset. "Ronji? _Ronji!_ What did you _do?!_ You cut the power of the entire planet!"

Ronji leaned back against the computer. "Oh. Sorry. But I think Vegeta's figured something out about Inba."

" _Inba?"_ Zarbon whirled around and snatched Vegeta up off the floor. "If it was anything else you'd already be dead. Do you know how many times Lord Freeza has been mocked like this? Never. Not once. So you better have _information._ Tell me right now." Zarbon hadn't seen Freeza this mad in a long time. He feared for his own life.

"Lord Freeza's been _mocked?"_ Vegeta laughed. "It's a lot worse than that. Locals being _taken away_ instead of killed. Locals _packing their things._ Locals acting _happy_ at the name 'Inba.'"

"Spit it out," Zarbon hissed, shaking Vegeta as he trembled with anticipation.

"I don't think the Inba group is trying to compete."

"They're trying to _rebel,"_ said Freeza from the doorway.


	20. Freezers Defrost When the Power Goes Out

Chapter 20

"They're trying to rebel and you're lucky I didn't know before. If the two of you had turned out the lights on my base just to tell me something I already knew, there would have to be consequences."

Ronji bowed. "Thanks, Freeza, for sparing our lives. Is there anything else we can do to help?"

"Of course! Go away so I can talk to Mr. Zarbon."

"What do you think's gonna happen? Huh? Are they just evacuating the planets we're after or are they _planning_ something?" Vegeta's eyes gleamed as he spoke quickly to Ronji on the way back.

"You want a war, don't you?" Ronji laughed in amazement. "What a species. If they're going to fight us... well, nobody likes a dictator. Who knows what IGRIS would stay on Freeza's side? It could end up being us against the whole galaxy."

"Wow. Wow. I really hope so. _Imagine_ how fun that would be. They really could attack us at any second."

"But it's been almost two years since they announced themselves. They probably want to save as many civilians as they can. If they don't know we caught their lie, it could be years before they make a move."

"Unless..." Vegeta was practically shivering with excitement. This was ten times better than any _rival corporation._ "Unless they have people here undercover... then they'd know as soon as we do."

"I haven't told anybody about the past-map's findings today. Right now the only ones who know are you, me, Zarbon and Freeza. Besides, no one could last long as a spy in this place. Being near Freeza is dangerous enough if you're _loyal."_

"Even so, let's look out for anything suspicious. If Freeza goes public with this information, I'm _sure_ something will happen."

They said goodnight and went their separate ways. Vegeta knew he wasn't going to sleep tonight. For the first time, he didn't think about his next mission. Extermination campaigns were isolating, and Vegeta couldn't be away if he might miss a single detail about how all this would unfold. He hoped the rebels were brave and hated Freeza to death. He hoped lots and lots of planets were involved, he didn't care which ones as long as they were strong. He hoped, right this second, there were people planning to take down Freeza and not stop until him and all his soldiers were dead.

Vegeta wanted the whole galaxy to fight him.

The next day, at breakfast, Freeza did indeed announce their findings. The cursing and the uproar was so loud that everyone almost missed the second part. Freeza was leaving that day to finally go to Planet Xe. He was taking a small team of ten people, all with power levels ranging from 10,000–15,000, and would be travelling in the H'yai ship. It was the last one in the entire Force that was fast enough to reach the mysterious other half of the galaxy in a month. He said the time to go to Xe and take control of the legendary growable soldiers was now. Taking whole armies to planets in a small bag of seeds would undoubtedly give them the upper hand in the many battles to come.

Vegeta was surprised at how seriously Freeza was taking this. He was also surprised that Freeza was choosing to spend two months in the dead vacuum of space now of all times.

Vegeta was so surprised that, as Freeza left to get ready, he stepped into his path. Freeza said nothing, just turned those cold eyes down on him. Vegeta was one of the only people in the Force that Freeza truly looked down on... the rest were too tall. "Lord Freeza, I don't think you should go."

"I expect you to know the advantages of a portable army, Mr. Vegeta."

"Of course I do... but when you have the power to blow up whole _planets,_ what's the point? You're just abandoning your main base."

"We still don't know where these beetles are. Not even I can destroy the whole galaxy at once, even if such a loss of revenue was acceptable. But knowing where they are wouldn't change anything; I'm not fighting them myself."

" _Huh?"_ Vegeta was shocked. "How come?"

"You've wasted enough of my time. In fact, make sure that no one else gets in my way like you just did."

"... Okay..." Vegeta's Saiyan instincts had already figured out why Freeza was leaving. They didn't think it was important enough to tell his conscious mind. But over the next month, a month that passed normally, Vegeta might have trained a _hair_ harder. Put up with Kiwi's dross enough to fight him a _little_ longer. Eaten a _serving_ more here and there.

They filled the sky a month after Freeza left.

One hundred spaceships that each held one hundred warriors, some of the finest from this half of the galaxy. They wrapped around the small planet like a hand, slowly closing into a fist as all the spaceships prepared to land.

And they landed _everywhere._ On landing pads, on roofs, on dangerously narrow bridges, on soldiers trying to get from one building to the next. The rebels swarmed out like locusts. They outnumbered the Freeza Force three to one, and Freeza himself was long gone. Zarbon and Dodoria were the best they had right now... no one knew their exact power levels but they were well over 15,000 each. Was it enough?

"Get Nappa and Raditz and anyone strong!" Ronji yelled at Vegeta as he got swept away in the current of soldiers. " _We have to protect my lab and the healing tanks...!"_ Vegeta would have punched Ronji for his nerve if he had stuck around. He'd help for five minutes, then he was gone. He wasn't missing this _invasion_ by playing guard dog for Ronji's things.

He was wrong. By this time, Ronji and his inventions were interplanetarily known and the rebels had a strategy. The two thousand strongest fighters went after Zarbon and Dodoria. Of the remaining eight thousand, half spread themselves throughout the planet to do as much damage as possible. The rest searched for Ronji's lab to completely destroy it.

As long as they did it quietly, they had a few minutes to prepare before the rebels found them. Vegeta knew he was in trouble when he realized he didn't _know_ which soldiers to recruit for help. Who was strong? He hadn't been paying attention. He sent Raditz to find strong people and organize them on the landing pad closest to Ronji's room. A stroke of luck made Vegeta and Nappa run into Kiwi on the way over.

"Come with us," Vegeta said, dragging Kiwi along.

"Hey, banana brains! Don't tell me what to do! I'm not standing in front of a door while everyone else gets to fight!"

"Believe me, you're gonna fight," Vegeta muttered, out of breath. Every ten steps or so an enemy got in his way and he had to take a second to kill it. From what he'd heard, most of the rebels were on the other side of the planet. Damn, there were a lot of them.

They made it to Ronji's lab and it didn't look like anyone had noticed. Vegeta left Nappa and Kiwi outside to take care of anyone who passed by while he went inside to help Ronji.

"We have to get anything important out of here quickly, understand?" Vegeta barked at Ronji who was moving around behind his fake wall.

"Already on it." Ronji, orange-faced and breathing hard, had run the whole way there.

" _YOU IDIOT!"_ Vegeta exploded. "I'm talking about your science things, not _as much mint and chocolate as you can carry!_ You're wasting time!"

"You aren't supposed to question me!" Ronji shrieked. "Don't you remember _anything?!_ If you're getting in the way, _leave."_

"Fine, fine! Then let me handle the foodstuffs. You're the only one who knows what to take from the lab."

"You know I only want—"

"—The mint and chocolate itself. You don't care about tools or recipes. I _know._ Now _hurry up."_

As soon as Ronji was carrying enough, Vegeta made a mistake. He opened the door to the hallway. People of all shapes and sizes spilled into the room, not a one of them wearing the same model of armor. Thirty rebel eyes fell on Ronji, their target, holding an armful of his most valuable prototypes and notes.

Vegeta was so short they somehow missed him. There was only the skin of a second before they attacked. What to do? Ronji and his things were so _fragile._ No time to think, instinct, instinct, instinct.

He stomped the air hard enough to break a hole in the wall to the outside, wrapped his tail around Ronji's waist, and jumped through. For once Raditz had done his job; ten soldiers were waiting for them on the landing pad.

Vegeta dumped Ronji's food on the ground and frantically wiped the chocolate off his hands. "Destroy the entire building! _I want it in pieces!"_

Two thousand rebels had clogged up the building that contained Ronji's lab, which had just become the site of a _chi_ atomic bomb courtesy of Vegeta and the ten soldiers. The small handful of rebels that survived were cleaned up by Kiwi and Nappa, who had both run as far away from Ronji's lab as they could.

One building was a small sacrifice to decimate a fifth of the enemy's forces in one breath. But it would take a long time to get rid of the rest of them. So the soldiers were grateful to Vegeta, who had so thoughtfully brought them snacks before the real battle started.

"Uh, you probably shouldn't be eating that—"

"EATING WHAT?!" Ronji spun around and almost fell over when he saw them. His mint and chocolate was already more than half gone. Even as rebels were climbing up the sides of the landing pad to surround them, Ronji lost it. He came at the unsuspecting soldiers with all three points of his power level, scratching and biting and wailing like he was possessed. He was too weak of course. All he accomplished was letting the advancing rebels know exactly where he was.

 _Idiot._ "Don't hurt him, I'll take care of it." Vegeta pulled the frenzied Ronji away, and with a quick blow to the head he was unconscious. Hopefully nothing worse than that.

Each landing pad was built with three round trampolines. When a spaceship came in hot and slammed deeply into the rubber ground its momentum was absorbed. That must mean there was an empty space under every trampoline.

Vegeta pried one up. He was right. As the other soldiers began to fight the advancing rebels, Vegeta stuffed Ronji and his inventing things into the crater. He decided to be nice and throw in the last bag of peppermint patties. Just put the landing bad back in place—hopefully it wasn't too airtight in there—and that was that.

Vegeta wiped the sweat off his brow and turned back to the action. Suddenly Nappa and Raditz were on either side of him, ready to fight for real, as the ground below was completely swallowed up by thousands of rebels.

The three Saiyans screamed and shouted with delight as they dived over the edge of the landing pad into the sea of enemies. Just before they made contact, Vegeta remembered that today was his fourteenth birthday.

*⁂*⁂*

Planet 65 was a wreck. Buildings upon buildings lay in ruins. There was just a smoking crater where Ronji's lab used to be. Only two healing tanks were intact enough to service the hundreds of soldiers that desperately needed them. Ronji was called to fix more up, but he was nowhere to be found. After a day of searching (Vegeta, having recently outgrown his perfect memory, couldn't recall which landing pad he'd left the scientist under) Ronji and his precious scouters were discovered safe, but hungry and pissed off. At least no one had landed a spaceship on top of him. He would have been killed instantly.

Zarbon and Dodoria had the two toughest fights, but both survived. Zarbon had mysteriously vanished from Dodoria's side early on, but then returned minutes later. He said he killed all of the rebels that came after him. Dodoria didn't believe him at first, he had only managed to kill a handful himself, but after the two of them easily finished Dodoria's share the pink Zibethian discovered hallway after hallway of slaughtered rebels. Zarbon must have gotten weaker ones.

They had fended off the rebels, but their casualties were severe. Most notably, Asai Minko, the conceptual storyteller of this planet. Vegeta had been so busy with the rebellion that he'd only stopped by to the storygroup twice. But even though he had lifetimes of fodder for conceptual fights now, he couldn't feel anything past a quiet pang of regret when he first heard the news. He didn't have the luxury to dwell in the past, he had to turn to fights ahead.

The Saiyans were the only ones in a good mood... fighting a whole army that wouldn't run away was rare for them. The battle had lasted almost twenty four hours. And since Freeza was gone, they didn't have to pretend to care about what this attack meant for the Force. Vegeta's ribs were broken and sent sharp pain with every breath... Ronji wouldn't let him skip the line to get healed because Vegeta had trapped him under the landing pads and let his food get eaten (even though he had kept Ronji safe and thought to leave him with at least _something_ to eat)... but none of that mattered. The three Saiyans, battered as they were, couldn't stop grinning to each other as they enjoyed the buzz.

*⁂*⁂*

Elsewhere, in a darker place across the galaxy, something was moving. These parts of outer space had never known something so small... so spiked and with such a long tail... to move so quickly. No one could see it, but it could see _them._ Those dull-eyed insects stuck to the surface of their hot rocks... wrapped up in a warm blanket of atmosphere... blinking stupidly at the void.

It wanted to kill them. It had killed already and it wasn't satisfied but it wouldn't waste its energy on those who had committed no crime against it. It took no pleasure from confusion... what it wanted was fear. It carelessly took the lives of those who didn't know. But those who did know... know what it was, know that they had sinned... it _consumed_ them.

It switched gears twice to go faster. It had no patience for finding those that wronged it. It would reach a certain planet in two days. It would not sleep, it would not eat, and it would not spare a thought to the lack of oxygen or the brittle cold.

*⁂*⁂*

"I just can't believe they dispatched _ten_ _thousand_ people for their first attack." Zarbon was speaking with Dodoria as they oversaw the soldiers working to rebuild the buildings that were mostly intact. No one was wasting energy thinking about the other piles of rubble as anything other than spare parts.

"Maybe they're too confident. Or stupid. They sent over so many people and didn't gain anything."

Zarbon turned to Dodoria. "So the question is... did they sacrifice most of their forces? Or are they so big that this attack meant nothing to them? No one can try to seize the top Freeza planet and expect to win."

Soldiers began to gather in the open space for supper. The cafeteria had been blown up. Zarbon was getting food for him and Dodoria while the latter changed his bandages when a soldier stumbled out of the main control building.

"Lord Dodoria! We just received an urgent message from—"

Another control worker pushed the first one to the ground. " _He's back,"_ she gasped, looking like she had seen a ghost.

"—Uh?" Dodoria grunted through a mouthful of mixed vegetables. "Be more specific."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Zarbon. "He already landed on Xe, if he turned around he wouldn't get back until next month! And that's _with_ a H'yai engine!"

"N—no, no, you don't understand..." The control worker's eyes darted around at the sky. It was empty and open. "He _flew..."_

There was a weird moment of silence where everyone stared at her and then suddenly... Freeza was there. No one saw him in the sky, he didn't jump down from anywhere... he was just _there._

All the soldiers within twenty feet of him were dead. Killed by the shock of his landing.

"Lord Freeza, why did you—"

"Shut up." Freeza shot a beam into the control worker's chest, killing her as well. He killed the four soldiers standing near her for good measure. Then he slowly turned in a circle, challenging someone to speak.

Whoever Freeza looked at instantly bowed their heads. Who knew what would set him off? There was no room for wondering the _why,_ the soldiers only thought of how to survive. They were frozen in place, terrified of what would happen if they tried to run.

All except for one. It was Vegeta, of course. When Freeza made eye-contact with him he just _couldn't_ look away. For the first time he could see Freeza breathing _,_ could see his shoulders and chest moving with shallow gasps. His eyes were wide with anger. He looked _alive._ Vegeta was in awe. _Someday I want to get Lord Freeza that angry myself and get away with it. Imagine the power... just thinking about it gives me chills..._

Vegeta was looking at Freeza, but he was too far-off to notice a finger with a sharp black nail being raised... aimed at his heart...

"Lord Freeza! I hate to say it, but the rebels have made the first move." Zarbon, head tilted down respectfully and hands clasped, stepped between Freeza and Vegeta. "It looks like the scum have gotten to you too, though of course they would never be able to do more than _mildly inconvenience_ you. Is it okay if I step aside with you and Dodoria to catch all of us up? That's the fastest way to plan a counter-attack."

There was a stomach-churning moment of silence, then Freeza gave a small nod. Dodoria glared at Zarbon over Freeza's head. Being alone with the demon they called "Lord" was the last thing he wanted right now.

The rest of the Force waited. Some were close to tears, most stayed in tense silence. A few soldiers started to drag the bodies away.

After a painfully long fifteen minutes, Zarbon was the only one who came out. He slowly walked up to Raditz. Bent down and whispered something to him. Raditz was shaking, a deer caught in headlights, but Zarbon had already moved on. Kiwi was next. Same reaction.

Then Zarbon turned to Vegeta to speak quietly as well. "Don't say a word. About fifteen feet to your right, there's a man named Kore. Do you know him?"

Vegeta looked up at Zarbon, confused. He shook his head slightly.

"He's the alien covered in fur. He assigns missions. If you still don't know who I'm talking about, blink."

Vegeta's eyes stayed open.

"Good. In a few seconds, I'm going to turn around. As soon as I take my first step, run over and restrain him. Then follow me. Be fast, his power level is 4000."

Before Zarbon's foot hit the ground Vegeta was off. Kore must have known it was coming, because in the instant it took Vegeta to find him the mission controller was already ducking behind another soldier. But Vegeta's tail wrapped around a furry ankle before it could be pulled out of sight.

The three young teenagers, Kiwi, Raditz, and Vegeta, walked single-file behind Zarbon. Vegeta passed the struggling Kore over to Kiwi and Raditz, who held him over their heads. Their footsteps echoed as loudly as if it were the middle of the night, and they kept catching sight of the silent crowd through holes in the damaged walls, watching them.

Freeza and Dodoria were waiting in an empty storage room. Kiwi and Vegeta were instructed to hold Kore against the wall so he couldn't move his arms or legs.

"I was thinking back to when I was informed of Planet Xe's existence all those years ago," Freeza started, beginning to pace. "It was you who first scouted it, wasn't it? You were certainly the one who pressed me to leave for it last month."

Kore tried to maintain as much dignity as he could with his arms and legs pinned by two fourteen-year-olds. "That's true, Lord Freeza... a—and I'll accept full responsibility for whatever happened out there."

"I think he _wants_ you to kill him," Dodoria said, chuckling.

"I'm sure you're right, Mr. Dodoria. Now you three." Freeza looked at Vegeta, Raditz, and Kiwi in turn. "As the youngest members of the Freeza Force, I feel an obligation to let you bear witness to this. But first I have a question. This man encouraged me to go on a wild goose chase to a dead planet. As soon as I landed, my ship's radio and engine blew out. Obvious sabotage. I was forced to return on my own, during which this attack was mounted. In addition, we have lost contact with Freeza planets 20, 37, and 4. At this point I reasonably suspect Kore here to be an undercover member of the rebellion. Now I ask the three of you: what would you do in my place?"

"Kill him." Vegeta.

"Yeah, kill him!" Kiwi.

"Uh-huh." Raditz.

"Lord Freeza, I can _promise_ you I'm not—"

"I'm disappointed but not surprised. Remember that he's one of those _Inba_ insects. They are actively defying me and I don't know where they are."

"So you want to get information out of him but also punish him with something worse than death," said Vegeta.

"Which would be...?"

"Torture?"

Kore began to struggle again. "Who's Inba? I don't know anything, I swear it! I _swear it!_ Let me go!"

Freeza slowly raised his index finger. "If one of you lets him move so much as an inch, I'll take care of _both_ of you after. I'm not in the mood for sloppiness." Vegeta and Kiwi nodded, adjusting their stances and tightening their grips.

Kore's fur was matted with sweat. Slowly the finger that had already killed that day pointed at him. "I—Okay! Okay, I'll admit it... I was sent here as a plant..."

"By Inba?"

"..."

"Where are they?"

"I can't tell—AAAGH!" For the first time, Freeza's beam wasn't used to kill. It shot towards Kore, as accurate as ever, and drilled a hole clean through his shin. Over the next little while, Vegeta, Raditz, and Kiwi learned several things.

Blasting holes in someone, starting at the feet and hands and gradually moving towards the heart and lungs like reverse hangman, could get them to talk in under ten minutes.

Kore had nothing to do with the team that spent years installing a blackout machine on Xe, powerful enough to short-circuit any computer on the whole planet. He was with the rebels, but on the fringe. He didn't know where their current base was.

He had a private communicator linked with a rebel who he swore wasn't the leader.

When he joined the Force, six years ago, the rebel base had been on a planet called Umu.


	21. Tip of the Spear

Chapter 21

"..." Freeza held Kore's secret communicator delicately, though his impatience was growing. He might enjoy crushing the rebellion and making it clear that none defy him, but first he needed to know where they _were._ They had gone too far... even if they quit now Freeza would have to hunt them to the ends of the galaxy.

Finally, a voice answered. " _Kore? What's the status over there?"  
_

"Unsuccessful... they k—killed all of us..." With a finger down his throat, Freeza sounded exactly like Kore—though a little muffled. "But they still don't know about me. I'm safe for now. B—but there's a good chance Freeza's going to suspect... he could find me any day now. He's _furious."_

" _So we couldn't get rid of him early on."_

"The vacuum of space isn't enough to kill him."

" _I see... well, at least we've still got our trump card. You've done your part, for better or for worse. We'll get you out of there."_

Freeza laughed very softly. What fools they were, bothering to save one of their own. But it was good for him. Now quickly, fishing around for information wasn't worth risking his cover, even against insects. He needed a _place._

" _It sounds like things are heating up on your end. That makes it risky for us to try and sneak you out, but it's even_ more _risky for you to leave. Hmm..."_

"Aha." Freeza winked at Zarbon. "I'm a mission controller, so I make trips to the satellite moon all the time. I'm sure I could just keep going when they aren't watching the sky. There's always a minute or two during mealtimes when they're distracted."

" _You sure?"_

"Yes. Where's the rendezvous location again?"

" _Meet us back on Umu. It'll take you a_ _week_ _if you leave today. We'll wait that long plus an extra_ _three_ _days, but that's all. I'm sorry, Kore, that's all we can spare."_

"If I don't show up I think we both will know what happened," Freeza said, brushing his tail against the real Kore's face. The real Kore, long dead and so full of holes he was five pounds lighter. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Rebel." Freeza hung up. "Umu?"

"It's barely in our database, sir," Zarbon said. "Close by, but scans didn't show anything of interest."

"We've never sent anyone over?"

"No, never."

"It's probably nothing, but send those five. If this planet ends up a dead end I'm _not_ going to be pleased. Now that I think of it, tell them to bring Mr. Ronji. I don't like having him lying around here stuffing his face all day, and he could be useful on Umu. There's no risk losing him with the company he'll have."

"Understood."

"And one more thing. We're running low on top-tier soldiers. I was thinking about making some teams... how many extra scouters do we have?"

"Six."

"Decide on five other leaders yourself, Mr. Zarbon, but start with Mr. Vegeta. He was the one who pieced together the truth about Inba, and now that I think of it, he advised me against leaving for Planet Xe. I'm interested to see how he'd do with a little power."

"Yes, sir."

*⁂*⁂*

"... For a start, give me your power level and how long you've been in the Force. I don't care about your names." Vegeta stood across from the eight soldiers in his favorite training center. "And I want your exact power levels, no rounding."

"900, two months."

"1012, a year."

"1057, five months."

"1259, four years."

"794, nine months."

"1376, two years."

"823, two years..."

"1184, year and a half."

"Make a line from strongest to weakest." Vegeta knew they weren't following his orders, they were following Zarbon's orders to follow his orders, but they'd learn soon enough. "Mandrill, Olive, Hamadryas, Guinea, Muriqui, Barbary, Black Howler, Rhesus. These aren't names, they're titles. If someone gets stronger than you, they take your title." Vegeta didn't want to keep track of who was strong. Everyone would progress differently; having ranks like this should make things easier. After all it was a tried and true system...

 _Vegeta sat beside the king on a dias overlooking the royal army's training grounds. "Who's that one?" he asked his father, pointing to a huge Saiyan in the middle of the pack._

" _I don't know, let's look at his armor... see those symbols on his chest? He's the Gelada. Pretty middle of the pack, but he can pull his weight." King Vegeta spoke dutifully, with a hard set to his jaw. He didn't take his dark eyes off the sparring Saiyans._

" _Is he stronger than you?"_

 _The king didn't answer, as usual._

 _Vegeta slumped in his chair and crossed his arms. Everyone's stronger than you, he thought, but didn't say anything because he learned his lesson the first time. Let's go join them, just for ten minutes, he thought, but didn't say because he learned his lesson the first time._

" _Sit up straight, Vegeta."_

Now where to start? Vegeta needed to whip these eight into shape. Thinking of training exercises made him think of blindfolds and incense... spicy ramen and fighting with mops...

Good for nothing games to kill time, that's all that was. Vegeta needed something _tough._

"Uh... Vegeta? There might have been a mistake," said Mandrill. "How old are you? Thirteen? I heard you're strong for your age, but this is the _rebellion._ Shouldn't you be training for when you're old enough? Do you even know what you're 'leading' us to do?"

Vegeta pushed his way into the middle of the group. "This is war, nobody knows what we're doing. And I'm fourteen. Power level 8776. Who's been serving Lord Freeza for five years? None of you? I've been here twice as long as that. But I don't mind showing instead of telling..." Vegeta put five hours on the clock. "Everyone split into two pairs and a group of three. I'll fight Mandrill myself."

Who knows if Ren wanted Vegeta to pass on his teachings? Who knows if Ren was still alive? Either way, Vegeta was giving his group the training of a _Saiyan._

It was weak VS strong, average VS strong, average VS weak... any combination Vegeta could think of. Two VS two. Four VS four. Seven VS one. Eight VS Vegeta. He might be spending a bit too much time fighting them all at once, but he had to have his fun somehow. None of them were good enough to be worth watching.

For two weeks Vegeta drove his group ruthlessly. He fought anyone who got lazy _mano a mano._ Right off the bat the soldiers started to change. First they were intimidated by the young Saiyan's battle fever. Then impressed. Then infected.

Then they started to get stronger. Every one of them. The three weakest, Howler, Rhesus and Barbary, worked so hard that before long no one in the group had a power level under 1,000.

Vegeta had a hard time falling asleep at night. He knew he was more of a Saiyan than ever... walking into the training room early in the morning and finding his whole troop ready and _starving_ to begin... working all day... everyone getting healed together before supper (too bad none of them were Saiyan, otherwise they'd get _really_ strong with the damage they took every day) and all going off to eat in a group... it was the most fun he'd had on a Freeza Planet.

But every night he couldn't stop himself from remembering the three years of Saiyan training he'd received on Planet Vegeta. Read strategy, history, science, law and literature all morning. Break for lunch. Review in the afternoon, and start the introductions to tomorrow's lessons before supper.

As he rolled over and over in bed, Vegeta's feverish mind always turned to Nappa's old words. The _sacrifice_ of the royal family. He was the Saiyan Prince Vegeta, named after the planet itself, and yet no one in their right mind could call his own training Saiyan. Though why would they bother teaching him anything Saiyan when they were turning him into the next glorified secretary of his race?

Deep breaths. He was remembering Nappa's words, it was high time he remembered his own. He didn't give a damn what the royal family had stood for. Not his father, or his mother, and none of his teachers. They were all in pieces now. Keep breathing. He didn't care about the Saiyan race, not the one he knew. They were weak. They let themselves get killed. He wanted nothing to do with them.

He was going to build a new race. It didn't matter if it was a group of three or one. As long as Nappa and Raditz stayed useful and loyal, Vegeta would welcome them to fight by his side... but if they broke either of those simple rules they were out. He would kill them himself if he had to.

He was the prince, he could afford to be picky. There were a few traditions he was attached to. But he wasn't holding anything sacred out of principle. The new Saiyan way of training, from now on, meant fighting for everyone. Lots of it. Simple and pure fighting. That was the kind of race Vegeta was proud to command as his own.

(The Saiyans before didn't exactly go easy on the fighting. The royal family, which compromised about 0.0001% of the whole race, were the outliers. But ever since Vegeta learned what his role as prince really was, his perception had changed.)

It was in the past. _The past._

*⁂*⁂*

Elsewhere, the Wei Force reached Planet Umu with Ronji in tow. They were the elite five: stronger, more serious and more loyal than the rest. They understood Freeza better than anyone else, so when they caught the unsuspecting ship of rebels they knew exactly what to do.

While the spaceship rattled back and forth with the screams it contained, Ronji went for a walk. Might as well take advantage of natural air and open spaces and inspired architecture if it was there.

They weren't dealing with Kore anymore. Every single rebel refused to talk to the point of death. The Wei Force was unusually stumped. But then one of them got Ronji and placed him in front of the ship's controls.

It was programmed to hold no record of past voyages, but that only stopped everyone else. Ronji, by now an old pro at retracing rebels' steps, was able to break the programming in two weeks.

"It's not like we know anything more about them," Ronji said, scratching his head, "but I found the next breadcrumb. 'Chibochaza,' co-ordinates 0XJ5-299..."

Captain Wei nodded seriously and radioed home. Their database carried no records of any "Chibochaza." The patch of space it belonged to was unexplored. "Lord Freeza, what should we do next?"

" _Don't touch that planet, I already have someone in mind. I want each of your men to go straight to the four most important Freeza Planets and make sure they remain unscathed. I want you, Mr. Wei, to take Mr. Ronji to some place out of the way where he can work uninterrupted. And don't take your eyes off him. Mr. Zarbon, Mr. Dodoria and you five are the only people I can rely on right now."_

*⁂*⁂*

"Look over there! That's a good one. Probably already taken though. What's her name?"

"Cynthrill. But I like her friend, Marone, better."

"The apprentice strategist? She's not bad, but a little young. Hey, Vegeta, you know that Saiyan she's always with? Are they together or just friends?"

"..." Vegeta drummed his fingers on the table impatiently. He was the only one finished eating because everyone else was too busy talking about _girls._ "Who cares? Shut up and hurry up so we can get back to work."

"Leave us alone for once! There's too many guys in the Force to begin with and training all day gives me an appetite. At least let us look during mealtimes."

"Though that's all we can do with this kind of competition."

"Exactly. You're fourteen, aren't you, Vegeta? I see you looking sometimes. I'm surprised you aren't with us on this. Don't you like girls?"

"W—well, yeah, but that doesn't matter!" Vegeta struggled to keep his voice down. "They're just a waste of time. A distraction. They have nothing to do with fighting."

His troop burst out laughing, falling on top of each other, their half-finished lunches completely forgotten. "So that's why! But Vegeta, what's the point of training so hard if you don't have a beautiful woman to go home to at the end of the day?"

"Yeah, fighting is just a means to an end."

Vegeta jumped up. "What was that, Rhesus?!" he shouted. "No, no, don't take it _back._ If that's how you really feel, don't take it back. I know your type. You're just here to get something interesting to say about yourself for once, right?"

Rhesus, the weakest one, shrank back in his chair. He wasn't sure if there was a right answer or not. "Yes?"

"Look past yourself long enough to notice the people around you."

"They're all so much stronger—"

"Yeah, I know. And doesn't it make your blood boil? Don't you think about the day when you wake up stronger than them? _Dream_ about what the exact look on their face will be when you finally beat them? _Savour_ the decision of whether or not you'll let them live?"

"Uh, not really..."

Vegeta gritted his teeth in frustration. "With that attitude, I guess you guys would be happy to just find a girl you like and settle down." His troop quietly nodded. "... Just finish eating already so we can get back to training," he muttered, shaky and wanting to change the subject.

"Vegeta?" said a soldier next to him. "If I'm not interrupting anything, I'm here to take you to Lord Zarbon."

*⁂*⁂*

"Congratulations. After meeting up with some rebels on Umu we've traced them further to an unknown planet, and you and your team have been chosen to continue the investigation." Zarbon, too busy to stop, filled Vegeta in on his way to a meeting between commanders.

"Is this the only lead we have?" Vegeta was trying to get a glimpse of whatever Zarbon was holding.

"Right now? Yes. And I'm sure you know what that means."

"Of course..."

"Your mission briefing." Zarbon slipped Vegeta a single piece of paper with a string of co-ordinates and the word "Chibochaza" scrawled by hand. "Your scouter." Next was a pocket-sized piece of technology that instantly made Vegeta think of his good friend Ronji, thin-blooded and jittery, working well past the halfway point to death, his energy insane and fuelled by the best motivator there was: fear of death.

"Thank you very much." Vegeta took his things and left to find the troop. They better be where he left them.

He couldn't decide how he felt about being sent off to an unknown place. They obviously saw him as expendable. But if success brought honor and failure brought execution for incompetency, maybe that was just the scale. On the bright side, Vegeta would _definitely_ have had something to say if they had given the mission to another leader. He could overlook being sent to his likely death as long as he was _doing_ something.

*⁂*⁂*

Two months later. Nine combatant pods faced the pink cloud-cloaked surface of Chibochaza.

" _So this is it."_

" _Time to show those rebels what the Freeza Force is made of, for better or for worse."_

" _Yeah!"_

"Hold on a second, everyone," whispered Vegeta from the bottom-most ship. "Who remembers the range that a landing can be noticed from?"

" _Five kilometers?"_

"..." Vegeta didn't want to call so much attention to them when the enemy was unknown. Stupid clumsy spaceships, streaking through the sky with a comet's tail and punching craters in the earth. Maybe they could find some sort of hidden island to land on. As soldiers, they didn't have a reliable way to scan for life without being on the planet. That was always done for them by small robots, years in advance.

Once Vegeta had decided what to do, everyone made their landings on the planet, leaving him in orbit around it. Each troop member landed on their own side of the planet, eight evenly distributed UFOs, all thousands of kilometers apart. After a few minutes his comm came alive with their voices.

" _My highest is two-fifty."_

" _Ninety over here."_

" _I've got three-twenty five."_

" _Oh, here's a five hundred."_

"Thanks buddy," Vegeta said to himself. Almost as an afterthought, Ronji had upgraded the original large scouters to read power levels in addition to life signals. Apparently their size made it much easier, which is why there were currently only fourteen handheld scouters in existence.

" _2000! Three of them!"_ It was Olive, the last to land, on the other side of the planet. "They're on the move!"

"Got you, trash," Vegeta smiled, speeding around to the other side of Chibochaza. If their spaceships weren't designed to be subtle, why not just go in the other direction? Eight UFOs crashing to the ground, one after the other, all across the planet. They had managed to scare a couple of birds out of the tree.

" _I've only seen women and children so far."_

" _Me too."_

" _Yeah."_

" _Uh-huh."_

"Great," Vegeta said, preoccupied, eyes on the planet's surface. That settled it: this was obviously one of the planets that the rebels used to dump evacuated citizens. "Don't leave any survivors." Vegeta's smile widened into a grin as he caught a glimpse of something in the clouds. Having a troop was fantastic... he could leave the boring stuff to them and have some fun.

Vegeta began to tail the escaping rebel ship out of Chibochaza's atmosphere. He had no idea where he was going. The Force's field of vision was shrinking: from the catalogued-but-unexplored Umu, to the unheard-of Chibochaza, to whatever this next location was. But Vegeta was getting all he could ask for—to be at the tip of the spear.

240 hours later, he was starting to get anxious. He couldn't set his _sleep_ timer if he didn't know when the journey would end. That old legend told to every new soldier rang in his ears: the alien who didn't bother to go to _sleep_ on a three month long flight. Something changed in him and when he landed on his assigned planet he did the complete opposite of his mission. He begged the locals to kill him.

Vegeta would be fine. He had enough shrunk food packets to last him _two_ months. He'd be fine.

48 more hours of staring pensively out the window, hands on his knees, barely moving and sleeping and growing more and more restless. He couldn't turn back. Freeza's hopes were on him.

His fears were killed before they fully surfaced. The rebels reached a planet on the twelfth day. It was medium size, warm and pretty close to a sun. The rusty red surface was injected with veins of black highlighted with gold. If the rebels had noticed him they were ignoring him, and Vegeta eagerly turned on his scouter as he entered the metallic planet's gravity field. A glance at the instruction sheet, enter the code— _beep boop beep_ —and the scouter was set to detect only the highest power levels.

1000.

2500.

5000\. Maybe this was where the elite rebels stayed. But by the Freeza Force's standards, they were nothing.

 _7000._

 _ **9500.**_ Stronger than him.

And now as Vegeta's ship shot towards the surface, the howling wind and the tremble of gravity taking hold distracting him, he almost missed the scouter exploding in his ear.

His nerves struck up as he wiped blood off his temple. Scouters exploded when they tried to read a power level that surpassed their capabilities, 10000.

Vegeta turned his ship right around and left without a glance out the window.

It was the first time in his life that he had chosen flight over fight. Light from a passing sun illuminated his comm and he grabbed it without thinking. Called Nappa. Told him to meet at... Gegecky. Vegeta had chased Nappa off right after they got there; it was unfinished.

He just had to go somewhere else.

As they approached, a crowd of people gathered in the area they were going to land in. _Suicidal fools._ Vegeta's mood lifted, looking forwards to the mission. But then it crashed back down.

Those weren't Gegeckians, they were too different from each other. They all stood like fighters, unafraid and unyielding to Vegeta and Nappa's incoming ships. The—

" _WATCH OUT!"_ Vegeta shrieked into the comm as he veered his ship off to the right. The bright green _chi_ blast rocketed past him through the sky. The rebels were here, too. That was what happened when you left survivors... they called for help.

" _What should we do, Vegeta?"_ said Nappa, still inside his ship. They had landed a few hundred meters away from the group.

"We're fighting this battle," Vegeta said unsteadily. He had come here to escape. But fate had punished him for running away and sent his pursuers right after him. "We're fighting and _winning."_ He pulled himself together and into the present. Who says these guys were strong like the others? Besides, they had an ace up their sleeve. Vegeta climbed out of his ship, head full of white noise and heart pounding. He felt like he was going to die.

But the light of the full moon soothed him.


	22. In Motion

Chapter 22

Those rebels were _nasty._ Vegeta's scouter was a pile of wires and casing from before, but it was easy enough to get a sense of their enemies' power... stronger than them. If he hadn't thought to pick a full moon night they would have been dead. Even so, even doing as much damage as they could during their one night of true power, Vegeta and Nappa barely scraped by.

It was their fifth day on Gegecky. "It's good to let one or two go," Nappa wheezed, sitting on the ground with Vegeta and watching small group of the last remaining rebels slither off. "That way they can tell their leaders how scary we are."

"Y... yeah..." Vegeta closed his eyes. _Good. They're leaving._ He was very, very tired and not sure how much longer he could last. Even though he had done his time for running away he could hardly stand himself at the moment. "I don't know—" Vegeta cut himself off when something in his side burst. He coughed up blood and collapsed.

Those rebels were _nasty._ Nappa, not doing so well himself with a broken leg, had to carry a heaving Vegeta to the ships and put him on life support. But his spirits were high as he programmed the ships to return home. Healing from this was going to be fun. Gegecky and 65 had even orbited into favorable positions... it would take less than half the travel time that it had before.

Vegeta was groggy and had a hard time pulling his thoughts together. Someone was helping him out of the spaceship... then he was leaning against a cold metal wall with a tube in his mouth as water splashed around his ankles.

He felt a little better after being healed and given a soft pair of pajamas. As a faceless soldier led him down the dark hallway—they had landed on 65 at 11:00 at night—each footstep seemed to reverberate through Vegeta's whole body. Energy and power from the air around him closed in, sticking to his skin, coating his throat, sinking into his bones. _Aaaaah. Who cares if I ran away? I fought well on Gegecky so I get to savor this... I can feel my power level going up..._

With some surprise, someone might have summoned him but he couldn't remember, he found himself in a boardroom with Freeza, Zarbon and Dodoria.

"Thank you for joining us, Mr. Vegeta," Freeza said quietly. "I'm looking forward to hearing about Chibochaza. I'm also looking forward to learning the reason why you just came from Gegecky."

"Don't spare a second thought to Chibochaza, Lord Freeza," Vegeta said. He had reconnected with his troop right before hitting Gegecky. They were just about finished and ready to head back. They were due to reach 65 at any time now. "There's another planet I think you'll be more interested in..."

In delivering his information to Freeza, Vegeta had successfully advanced the Force one slot further. It didn't seem like a real war... there wasn't enough chaos, everything was too linear... but Vegeta didn't want chaos at that moment. He wanted to redeem himself.

"Well done, Mr. Vegeta," Freeza said. "Now we can clean up this mess. The planet you found could very well be the backbone of the whole rebellion... if that's the case, they won't be able to stand if it's gone."

"So do you have to be close by or can you blow it up from here?" Vegeta asked excitedly.

"Oh, _I'm_ not the one who will take care of it."

 _Even now?_ Freeza wouldn't get out of that floating pod and fight in his _own war_ even to end it? Vegeta was stunned. He couldn't understand what was going through Freeza's head. _Why wouldn't he fight?_

"Mr. Zarbon." Freeza turned to his waiting right hand man. "How many soldiers are left with power levels over 10,000?"

"Hmm. Excluding Dodoria and myself and the... _ahem..._ the Wei Force, we have Kiwi and a small handful of commanders. Four, last time I checked."

"I'll go back," Vegeta spoke up. He didn't understand Freeza, but he wasn't letting this chance go. "I know I'm not quite 10,000 yet, but I'm a Saiyan so I'll be there in a few more battles."

"What are you talking about?" Dodoria was squinting at him through the glass of his scouter. "It puts you at 10,000 so you're at least that strong, probably a little more."

"I am?!" Gegecky part two had been more helpful than he thought. Though he should have known... that power boost was definitely better than the rest.

"Then it sounds like you'll be useful after all," Freeza smiled. "You may go when the rest of the team is assembled."

"Oh yeah, has Ronji finished any more scouters? I need a new one." Vegeta chose not to mention he'd been a little stupid and lost his old one when he forgot to put it on "safety mode."

"You'll do without, Mr. Ronji isn't available right now," Freeza said. "Get some sleep while you can. I expect you to be ready the moment it's time to leave."

Once Vegeta was gone, Freeza, Zarbon, and Dodoria settled down to have the real meeting. Zarbon supplied the status reports and the wine glasses, Dodoria got out the apple Barbera, and Freeza thought of the fine soldier Vegeta was becoming. He and Kiwi both had hit 10,000 at such a young age, but Kiwi was a little _too_ mindless.

"Well, Lord Freeza," Zarbon said, flipping through the reports as Dodoria filled his glass, "You officially lost half of your forces. Since the first attack over a year ago the death toll has reached 500 million. We're losing Freeza Planets at the same rate."

"But Wei's men?"

"Every planet that you stationed one at has taken no damage."

"Good. Even though this is the beginning of the end, I want those planets to remain intact. The IGRIS must keep living in ignorance."

"I understand your wishes, Lord Freeza," said Dodoria, "but don't you think they'll see all this inaction as weakness?"

"I don't think so," Freeza said, taking a long sip of wine. "The rebel forces are estimated to be around 100 billion strong, correct? Every single one of them will be dead by the time this is over. That means each of our dead soldiers equals two hundred dead rebels. Don't look so worried. This is actually a nice way to trim the hedge a bit... I'll only have room for soldiers who can pull their weight afterwards. Now, to Mr. Dodoria and Mr. Zarbon both." He refilled their glasses. "Have you been informed of the situation?"

"Zarbon told me an hour ago," said Dodoria. "What was this Wei guy's power level again?"

"80,000," said Freeza. "He was my strongest officer... but that's the least of our concerns. The rebels have a way to defeat someone that strong, and we can't utilize Mr. Ronji's inventions anymore. It's likely they took him to help their cause, but they may have killed him. Either way, our scientist friend is out of the picture."

"How can we make the move without him?" Zarbon asked.

"If he's being held captive we'll just take him back once the rebels are dust, but we have to focus on grinding that dust first. Obviously if they took care of Mr. Wei they can take care of you two. I was going to offer you the option of going into hiding until this is settled... but if the rebels truly have a planet in the wings full of fighters that strong, you'll have to clean it up yourselves."

Zarbon and Dodoria bowed deeply. "Understood, sir."

"I'm giving you the rest of the elite soldiers on this planet to do the job. If you fail and force me to settle things myself, there will be no survivors in this half of the galaxy. Good night and good luck."

Vegeta, in a "finally-reached-quintuple-digits" haze, bumped into an eavesdropping Kiwi out in the hallway.

"Feeling some fear now?" Vegeta grinned. "I'm sure any non-Saiyan would be terrified at the thought of so many strong opponents. Maybe if you poison _yourself_ this time, Lord Freeza will let you sit this one out."

"I already talked to Lord Freeza. I'm staying behind to be his personal bodyguard," Kiwi said haughtily.

"You _are_ scared! I can't believe it! Does the glory of victory mean nothing to you?"

"I'm not scared! I'd rather have power and influence than stay a _foot soldier._ I'm surprised someone with your power level is content with such a lowly rank."

Vegeta didn't know what to say. People were abstaining from battle left and right like it was _beneath them._ What gives? "You won't be needing this, then," he said, grabbing the scouter off Kiwi's face. "I can't promise its safety, but that's what happens when you take risks and actually _do_ something with your life. Coward."

*⁂*⁂*

Kekken was a medium-small planet third from its sun. Rivers of inky black liquid snaked across the planet's red surface. Mixing the iron-rich soil with the minerals in the water turned the shores of the rivers gold.

A small cottage stood within spitting distance of Kekken's largest and roughest river, the Orill. On its ivory verandah sat Robe, watching the river's current with a hand resting on the head of his beloved pet.

"Was it your plan to uncover us?" asked Robe. His heart was still racing from the update he had received moments ago on his comm. Some kid had tailed his men all the way to Kekken, and now Freeza was mobilizing a few thousand soldiers to wipe them out.

"Goo."

"Oh. Well, either way, this is good. Get the strongest ones in one place for our buddy to take care of, then Freeza's on his own."

"Goo?"

"Gavel's powers work no matter how strong the victim is. As long as we keep our ace a secret, we should be able to pull this off."

"Goo..."

"We'll be fine, sweetie..." Robe soothed. He held his pet at eye level. "I grieve the death of your mother every day, but Gavel won't let anything happen to you." He stroked the pet's skunk-striped beard lovingly. "And just think of what we'll be able to do with that tyrant out of the way!"

"Goo!"

"Me too. They'll get here in a few weeks, and then we'll finally be able to see them die with our own eyes."

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta was aware of what a waste it would be if he died at the tender age of fourteen. He just didn't care.

Every one of Freeza's soldiers had bad dreams on their way to Kekken. They felt the cold, lifeless expanse of outer space pressing closer from their _sleep._ It was a flight where the thin spaceship walls didn't seem to be enough to keep out the waiting void. Dying in space was a numb, stifled, lonely affair.

As the rebels watched the skies calmly day after day, their radar bleeped an emotionless countdown. _15\. 14. 13. 12..._

And finally, the sun rose on the day of the last battle. In fact, the soldiers seemed to come from the sun. Dozens of carrier ships with hundreds of single-person pods swarming around them.

On Kekken's surface, almost everyone was waiting outside with a steely resolution. Their food and medical supplies were hidden away to stop enemy soldiers from stealing them. Each and every rebel on the planet had been hand-picked from the few places Freeza hadn't sunk his claws into yet. Even as Freeza's approaching army blotted out the sun, not a single rebel wavered. No nervous clearings of the throat. No anxious weight shifting unsteadily from foot to foot. They knew they were strong. Robe had said they would win.

A vibration spread through the air as hundreds of spaceships entered the atmosphere... and it began. Like a drop of watercolor paint on paper, the soldiers that touched down first spread away from their ships to give late arrivals elbow room. Vegeta was one of the last to land, and he relished stepping out of his ship to the sounds and smells of war after weeks of dull silence.

He found a rebel partner, one with long dragging arms and blocky feet, and began to fight. Kiwi's scouter—now his—said his opponent had a power level of 9950. He wouldn't have the chance to warm up.

It was one of _those_ fights. Just when Vegeta managed to land a hit, the next second he got kicked in the stomach. No one gained the upper hand, they both just grew more tired and bloody. A real warrior could make something as small as a few points difference in power levels an insurmountable lead. Vegeta, used to fighting hordes of weaker enemies, was a little rusty on the technique but he managed it. Getting too caught up with thoughts of _win! win! win!_ meant wasting physical energy. It was by keeping his breaths even, by dodging as his opponent swung, by making contact with those beady eyes, that led Vegeta to pinning the rebel to the ground.

"Any last words?" Vegeta grinned, liquid fire coursing through his veins.

The brutish rebel twisted his head from side to side. They were on the outskirts of a battle where no one was left alone. Help wouldn't come for him. "How many planets have you 'processed?'"

"Oh, a question for me?" Vegeta tightened his grip on the rebel's arms in case he was trying to distract him. "Sixteen. One for every year I've been alive, plus two."

Tears were trickling out of the corners of the rebel's eyes and watering the blood-soaked earth underneath him. "Only a boy... only a boy, and you've ended sixteen worlds? And you say it with such pride. I _weep_ for you. People like you never last long... your soul stained... corroded... all because that devil _Freeza_ stole you away from your family, poisoned you with his evil... and I _weep_ for you."

"Yeah?" Vegeta crossed his arms, elbows digging into the rebel's chest. "I'm hearing a lot of assumptions here... Seems like you believe in karma. I don't. I believe in the individual." Vegeta wrapped his hands around the rebel's neck. "Specifically _me._ Know why?" His grip tightened. "I could count on one hand the number of times I've truly felt safe. I'm still young, but fourteen years is a long time to survive when my life is in constant danger. And yet, here I am. Undamaged. _Strong._ Could an ordinary piece of the greater whole have made it this far? No. And didn't you realize it would only encourage my belief in myself, letting me snap your neck like that just now?" Vegeta chuckled, getting up. "Don't answer that, it was hypothetical."

He ran back into the fray to find someone new. There was no doubt that his and Nappa's time on Gegecky had given him that victory. He hoped for Nappa's sake that the older Saiyan had survived... it would be more than humiliating to die within the first hour of war.

"Hey! Over here!" Vegeta yelled at a stone-faced, well-muscled grey rebel standing over the body of a soldier. Who cared if it was a little weird to flag opponents down like taxis? This war was a power level buffet, and Vegeta wanted to try everyone out.


	23. Skirmish

Chapter 23

"... And you people _murdered_ them before they could even evolve a language to scream their pain in!"

"So? They're just animals at that point," said Vegeta, ducking as a powerful fist shattered the glass window above his head. "What's your problem? _I_ didn't process this 'Danst'... and it isn't your planet in the first place."

"None of you monsters understand!" the scaly alien screamed through its beak, running around Vegeta in a frenzy. "What you do is wrong! Twisted! Sick! Evil! How can I possibly tell you how we feel if you don't know what suffering is?!"

"Tell me. _Please."_ Vegeta was fighting at half power. He couldn't waste energy. It was the end of the first day, and the two armies didn't seem to have shrunk any... but the piles of bodies were big enough to be used as cover.

"Suffering is—"

"—Pain. Yeah, I know it's pain." Vegeta caught both of the lizard's fists and tried to push his opponent back. "I'm gonna make this simple for you: all those people and animals that all of us killed for Lord Freeza? If they weren't weak, they would have survived. They got whatever fate they were worth." Vegeta sent Scales flying through the air, lifeless. Breathing heavily, he turned on his scouter again. Right off the bat, another 6,000. There were too many of them, dammit. He hated to admit it, but even power levels of 6,000 were starting to challenge him. Never mind that he'd been fighting for eleven hours straight with no meals.

Vegeta shielded his eyes from the setting sun, feeling lightheaded. No food in sight. For a second, he stared at the fresh corpses that littered the ground. _No. No way._

With a sigh, he flew off towards the closest 6,000. It had better be Nappa this time... he was running out of patience (stamina).

Two days later

"I can't believe you two survived," Vegeta whispered in the dark. "I'm impressed."

"Don't be," Nappa grumbled. "There aren't too many rebels at our level so we had to stay out of the action. I've never felt so useless in my life."

"Yeah..." Raditz said sadly. "We've just been slinking around, telling other soldiers where the food's hidden. You hungry?"

" _Please,_ I'm starving," Vegeta said. It was annoying, speaking in total darkness, but he needed time to relax before jumping in again. "Good thing you guys are with me now. I'll find us a good 9000 with the scouter that we can all fight together."

The three reunited Saiyans worked together for a few more days, even managing to grab a few hours of sleep each. Vegeta couldn't be anything but happy, getting to fight all day every day, but... he was _tired._ Maybe something about the lack of rest... no, that was too petty. His battles were losing heart, costing him a few injuries he could have avoided. He wasn't at the top of his game. Why wasn't he at the top of his game? What was wrong with him?

The sixth day. The Saiyans had just finished off a gang of three foot tall winged fish when they noticed a weathered man staring at them with piercing eyes. "There's planetfuls of you, aren't there..." the old man said softly, almost to himself. "Power-crazed children running around playing God. But where are your elders? Who do you turn to when you need wisdom?"

"We don't," Vegeta said. Creepy old man. Was he giving them _another_ lecture?

"Individual planets aren't doomed, this whole blasted galaxy is."

"Power level?" Nappa asked, striding towards the man.

"200."

"If you think this world is so hopeless I hope the afterlife treats you better, old man," Nappa said, killing him swiftly.

"Who thought it was a good idea to bring their dad to a place like this?" Raditz scoffed.

"Our families that stayed on our home planets are all _dead,_ you bastards!" said another rebel, running up to challenge them.

" _My god,_ shut up for a minute!" Vegeta yelled, blasting the newcomer to pieces. "I am so _sick_ of every other worthless piece of trash preaching at us!" He felt itchy. "Nappa, Raditz, try not to get yourselves killed." He limped away.

Why were there absolutely _zero_ rebels who wanted a good old-fashioned fight to the death for its own sake? Why was he getting _politics_ shoved down his throat at every turn? This wasn't even his war to fight. Why wouldn't Freeza fight? Vegeta couldn't call him a rival if he had never personally witnessed him fight.

He had heard that Inba, or whoever was the leader of this stupid rebellion, was hiding on the planet somewhere. That was it. Vegeta would just end this now so he could go home and back to fights he actually cared about.

He had no idea why the rebellion wasn't doing it for him. He had never had so many strong opponents at once before. Maybe because his physical strength was strained. His power level hadn't risen one point since he hadn't had the chance to heal. Or maybe he wasn't doing things on his own terms enough.

Who. Cared. Vegeta was going to kill Inba himself, finally get Freeza's trust and respect, and then find a place chock-full of real warriors to chase and surpass. That sounded nice.

Rebels were pieces of trash. Every single one of them. Know why? They didn't tell you where their leader was after you beat them in a fight.

*⁂*⁂*

"Mannerless trash." Ten days in, and Vegeta was still scouring all of Kekken for someone who knew proper battle etiquette.

He was starving. Ever since leaving Nappa and Raditz, the meal ticket boys, Vegeta had found exactly two stores of food on his own, but even then the bread had been stale, the vegetables withered. That small voice at the back of his mind spoke up again. _There's food everywhere. Meat, protein, energy. Eating what you find on the ground is a terrible idea, but if you kill it yourself... you'll know it's fresh... and you are so hungry..._

Vegeta's comm went off. "Hello?"

" _Mr. Vegeta, report."_ It was Freeza himself, sounding unusually curt.

"What? Me? I've been fighting my own battles one after the other, I have no idea if we're actually winning. Why didn't you call Zarbon or... Oh." Vegeta checked the nearest power level on his scouter. 10,000 (yikes, that meant 10,000+), but a few kilometers away. He could afford to let his guard down for a second.

" _Are you injured?"_

"I'm exhausted, bruised a few of my ribs, haven't been finding enough food, the ankle I twisted's slow to heal, but nothing major. What happened to Zarbon and Dodoria?"

" _Both are unreachable by comm. There shouldn't be anyone in the rebel army strong enough to kill them... is what I want to say, but there's someone out there."_

"Someone with a power level greater than 20,000?!" Vegeta gasped. "No way. Their comms were probably just damaged."

" _No. There was another incident a few months ago that it's time you know about. I had sent truly the strongest being I have ever come across, Wei, to guard Mr. Ronji on an abandoned planet. Somehow the rebels incapacitated Wei and got their hands on your scientist friend."_

"What was Wei's power level? Did they kill him?" Vegeta asked.

" _80,000. The soldiers I sent found the planet devoid of any traces of them. Don't bother thinking that losing contact isn't enough proof that something happened. Mr. Zarbon, Mr. Dodoria, and Mr. Wei are all at the level where failing to be reachable means death. They could be dead, they could be alive..."_

"... But people that strong don't just go missing," Vegeta said. "I get it. I have to clean this up. I'm the most senior officer left on this planet, aren't I?"

" _Be proud of yourself. There's a handful left at your level, but no one else has done more than you to take down the rebels. You would be useless against whoever went after my two aides, but you can still be of use to me. Find a full-sized scouter ship and read this mystery fighter's power level. The scouter ships go up to 120,000. It's impossible for anyone other than myself to be past that point. Understand?"_

"Yeah."

" _Then do it. There's already plenty of people around you that you can't handle, Mr. Vegeta. Just find the scouter ship, set the reading to maximum, and leave before you get killed."_

"Lord Freeza?"

" _What?"_

"After I find that power level... will you be coming over here?"

" _Goodbye, Vegeta. Don't disappoint me."_

Vegeta sat behind that pile of rubble a few minutes longer, trying to decide if the rebels were _winning._ If Zarbon and Dodoria were truly out of the picture, the rebels had a good chance of killing every member of the Force that had come to Kekken. Freeza previously had a number of soldiers in the 15,000 range, but they died on Xe. Vegeta knew for a fact that Freeza himself had slaughtered them in a fit of rage when his ship had broken down. What a waste.

He also knew that more than a few Freeza planets had been destroyed by rebels, looted for their ships and supplies, completely overwhelmed. Those who had come to Kekken were the once-mighty Freeza Force's last breath. The only rebel Freeza had _seen_ was Kore, tortured and held helpless against the wall in enemy territory. Add all the members of the Force together, past and present, and Freeza would still be stronger. And yet, he was using his weaker minions as a billion-strong meat shield to make him the person most unaffected by the war. His own war.

 _Ahhhhh_. That was the point, wasn't it? Vegeta got up, frustrated yet excited all the same. Engaging the rebels in any way would be taking them too seriously. But to sacrifice so many of your own men just to make a statement? What exactly was Freeza planning to do after the war was over and he had no underlings? Process planets on his own?

Vegeta was trying to see Freeza's actions from an angle that he could understand and admire. The power play was serious and impressive, but to throw away such a chance to fight... He didn't know what to think, but he _did_ know that he wasn't going to find the mystery rebel's power level, parrot it back to Freeza, and scurry away. He was going to make sure that his boss never made it to Kekken's solar system. He'd find a way to settle things here himself.

The main battle had moved away from him, but there were a few stragglers around. Before Vegeta could check any power levels, the reading closest to him started blinking. Whoever it was had begun to come towards him. Power level... 10,000. So the distant figure was at least as strong as he was. Rebel or fellow soldier?

Vegeta met him halfway. He was a rebel. Medium size, medium build, black and white Rorschach skin and glowing white eyes. Piloting a large scouter ship. Bingo.

Vegeta looked through the deafeningly-loud 100 ton helicopter of technology moving at a snail's pace and saw that the rebel's eyes were on his own handheld scouter. They both had what the other wanted.

Without speaking, the two landed and put their respective scouters off to the side. They faced each other on the shore of a small river and bowed.

"Vegeta."

"Baraknee."

Vegeta got a little thrill of excitement. He really, _really_ liked the presence coming off of this guy. To the victor go the spoils. Nothing more to it than that.

They began. Neither of them came into the fight without injury, and neither brought up why their side was in the right. They just fought.

After the first punch Vegeta knew his opponent was different. He took a guarded second to make sure he wasn't wasting breath, then tried a simple blind spot feint on Baraknee. It was useless, Baraknee followed his every move from beginning to end. _Nice._

 _S_ truggling, clashing and ricocheting frantically, they twisted up into the air. Five minutes later, Vegeta and Baraknee landed breathlessly. Vegeta's arms and legs throbbed from blocking. Neither of them had landed a single blow that entire time. There was never an attack, never an initiator, if one of them moved the other moved and that was that.

"Scripted fights are so boring," Vegeta said, trying to be casual and cover up how embarrassingly happy he was. "Quit moving at the same time as me so something actually happens." Baraknee was the most responsive alien Vegeta had ever fought. Unlike those galactivists back there, he fought so cleanly, so without assumptions or distractions, that Vegeta could only keep up with him. He had thought that nobody could focus on the moment during a fight the way he could. He was wrong.

Baraknee would charge him if he didn't make a move in the next second. _Save the analysis for after the fight I can't think if I want to win this I'm not wasting breath but I can't waste thoughts either._

Vegeta ran at Baraknee. As Baraknee lunged forwards to stop him, Vegeta dived under his long arms. He grabbed a leg just as hands caught both his ankles, keeping his feet from touching the ground. He pulled Baraknee's leg out from under him, keeping the advantage of surprise from turning into the disadvantage of Baraknee holding him upside down. They were now in a triangle on the ground, Baraknee lying flat on his back and Vegeta making up a side with his feet as the tallest point and his arms still holding Baraknee's leg tightly.

He couldn't pull it off. Baraknee was propping him up and he didn't weigh much. Distract, distract, distract. Baraknee bellowed in pain as Vegeta bent his knee the wrong way with a sickly _kkrrrrck._ Instantly Baraknee's hands were on Vegeta's back and he felt his spine pop as it made the exact same sound.

 _Panic._ Somehow Vegeta was on his feet again (hunched over.) Baraknee, also, was standing (weight on one leg.) Simultaneously, they ran at each other. The three handsprings that Vegeta did were risky, but it payed off when his back straightened out instead of snapping. Baraknee was running deeply with no limp, so both of them were okay for now.

The fight started getting sloppy. Less blocking and more exchanging punches, if they even connected. Vegeta ended up lying on Baraknee's head somehow. Legs wobbled and stumbled while fists swung and missed. Any sort of precision had flown out the window an hour ago. On the rare times that Vegeta fought in this kind of condition, he would get anxious about how he would win. This time, though, he just kept fighting without thinking about the future. All he needed to know was that Baraknee was in the same shape as him.

During a small lull, Vegeta thought dizzily about how well he knew Baraknee without having spoken more than three sentences to him. There was no doubt that he was the best opponent yet, maybe even the best opponent there was for him on the planet.

What was supposed to be a laugh caught in his throat and turned into a yelp as the side of Baraknee's hand came down on his shoulder. Pain spiked through his arm and he couldn't lift it. He must have torn an important something. Damn.

Vegeta clutched his damaged arm with his other hand and glared at Baraknee, breathing harshly. How could he have let his guard down like that? Now he was at a huge disadvantage. "I wasn't ready..." he said without thinking. He was met with a confused look, of course. _Dammit..._ Baraknee had hit his shoulder, not his head, what was wrong with him?! Every fight on this planet was to the death, no one was going to _cater_ to him. He didn't want them to. If he knew he was going to be so green, he would have stayed on 65...

Dust and leaves blew into Vegeta's eyes. Baraknee was on fire, blazing with the power of the _chi_ blast he was building. A _chi_ blast that, at their level, would be visible from space and turn their side of the planet into a wasteland.

Vegeta almost got knocked backwards as, for a split-second, Baraknee morphed into Freeza. Yes... Freeza, as he had been on Kazoo, the abandoned planet. Freeza, calmly building that horrific explosion that had swallowed the planet whole along with the soldiers that had accompanied them.

Vegeta's right arm had been disabled then, too.

The match was long gone. Survival held his every impulse hostage. What a glorious opponent this was... Not a word, not a charitable moment to give to him when he so foolishly dropped his guard, and not a single qualm about putting him on the receiving end of a blast this size for the first time in his life. He didn't know what to _do_ against such an attack.

Vegeta stared down the energy field as it swelled around Baraknee. It would burst very soon. He was glued to the spot, wide-eyed and shaking, his right arm hanging dead at his side, as he thought about the beauty in fighting a single strong opponent and how he was going to die.

Vegeta wanted to live so badly his throat ached. (A few purple sparks snapped across his armor.) He wanted to explore every single planet in the universe. (He started to glow with his own rising _chi._ ) He wanted to find every single being that called itself a warrior. (Debris, being pushed by both sides, crashed together in the space between Vegeta and Baraknee.) He wanted to kill them all and take their power as his own. ( Vegeta's _chi_ field was just as big as Baraknee's.) He wanted to kill Freeza and take his place as the strongest. (The two blasts shot towards each other and collided.)

Vegeta closed his eyes tightly, knowing that the first step back he took would be the end, and pushed forward as hard as he could with one arm, pushed with the lifetime's worth of ambition that he'd barely gotten started on. His feet slid back a few inches through the dirt but he kept his form. The pressure forcing him back was unbelievable... he was almost standing up straight... the next instant and he would overbalance and turn to ashes...

The wind died and the push faded. Vegeta opened his eyes to a crumbling ditch gouged through the rocky ground for miles and no Baraknee in sight.

He walked over to the scouters, put his on and got into Baraknee's stolen scouter ship to find out this mystery rebel's power level.

*⁂*⁂*

 _I'll just have to find them. Looks like the rebels never had anything going for them... How stupid were we to let them get this far on bark alone?_ Vegeta was annoyed and confused. The largest power levels on Kekken were well within the scouter's range. 19,000 and 18,500. Zarbon and Dodoria's readings.

It was unnatural to think that Freeza was wrong and jumping to conclusions. In his defense, Vegeta couldn't reach their comms either. He made a few more quick calls... no one had seen either second-in-command for days. Zarbon and Dodoria had never been the kind to keep their fights under the radar. If there were no sightings on top of being unreachable... nothing to do but go to the readings and see for himself what was going on.

Vegeta dropped out of the air and landed painfully on his injured arm. He didn't have enough _chi_ left to fly anymore and the scouter ship was too slow. He found the 10,000(+) readings on his limited scouter, tagged them as Zarbon and Dodoria, gritted his teeth and continued on foot, blotting out the complaints of his exhausted body and focusing on the softly pulsing light of the readings.

Just as he set foot on the golden shores of the widest river he had seen yet, something made Vegeta pause. There was a whisper coming to him... something familiar and yet out of place... something almost in the air around him.

It _was_ in the air. It was a scent. It was so faint that Vegeta almost missed it... and it had been so long since he had smelled it... but once it caught his attention, its sharp sweetness was unmistakable.

Mint and chocolate.

Vegeta changed course and followed the smell without another thought.

*⁂*⁂*

Two hundred meters down the river lay a single room cottage. Metal power boxes were piled up in the backyard, connected to the cottage by thick, ropey wires. The smell of electricity now almost blocked out the mint and chocolate.

Vegeta shattered the padlock on the front door and stepped inside.

The simple action of opening a door to reveal Ronji tooling around with something electronic was so familiar to Vegeta that it was as if he had walked through a portal from Kekken to 65. He had to blink and remind himself where he was.

Ronji stared at him silently, bloodshot eyes shadowed with dark circles and long ears completely limp. His mouth twitched and he licked his lips.

"Hey, Ronji. Long time no see," Vegeta said, a drop of blood dripping off the tip of his nose to the stone floor. He was hurt bad, but he had to tell himself he could hang on and shut down this war. "Answer me however you can. Did Freeza stick you on a planet with a guard dog named Wei?"

A faint nod.

"Power level 80,000?"

A nod.

"But the rebels got you?"

A nod.

"What happened to Wei?"

Ronji closed his eyes for ten seconds, breathing shallowly and wringing his hands. " _I... don't... know..."_ he said at last with a glass voice. " _Un... conscious..."_

 _Tch._ Vegeta had made approximately zero progress on the job Freeza gave him, never mind his own goal of finding and killing Inba himself. All he could do was confirm that the rebels had a way of taking down people with unattainable power levels. Other than matching their strength, there was no way to kill someone like Zarbon who couldn't be shot, cut, burned, or affected by natural materials in any way... or was there?

Tuck that away for now. "The rebels want you because you're useful. Have you made any scouters or healing tanks for them?"

" _Do not have... stuff... or notes..."_

"Did you invent anything new for them?"

" _Just been... fixin'... old tech... heh... so boring for m_ — _me..."_

"But did you make anything? Anything at all?"

" _I told them... you were coming... tracked you... with some cells... I have..."_

"My _cells?"_

" _Yep... lots of diff'rent soldier cells... I take 'em,"_ Ronji said, hand shaking uncontrollably as he pulled a case out of his robes. " _Don't leave home without... never know.. could be useful..."_

Vegeta stared at Ronji. "How long have you had that... case of cells?"

" _Years... which's why it doesn't count... too old to be new... No, I didn't invent nothing new for these aminals... C... an't... betray Freeza too much... ahh... he's nicer than them..."_

"They're worse than _Freeza?_ " Vegeta asked, skeptical. "What did they do to you?"

" _No m_ — _mint or chocolate... none... for_ _seven_ _months... I've been dead_ _seven_ _months... won't sleep... can't sleep... eat anything else 'n' it just comes back up..."_

" _Huh?_ Ronji, I only found you because I followed a trail of mint and chocolate. This room _reeks_ of the stuff."

Ronji's eyes bulged and he inhaled so quickly he hyperventilated. " _Can't smell anything,"_ he cried, falling over.

"Wouldn't be surprised if it's in your DNA by now, no matter how long you went without it," Vegeta muttered under his breath.

"V—Vegeta?" Ronji said from the floor. Vegeta walked over. Some emotion began to color the Kaimonese's voice. Tears were streaming down his face as quiet sniffles turned into gut-wrenching sobs. "A—a—a—are you g—going t—to k—k—kill them... so I c—can go home...?"

"Yeah..." Vegeta said slowly. "Yeah, I think I will. Have you seen Inba's face?"

"Inba? No, no, Inba's just a front," Ronji said, color coming back to his cheeks as well. "The one in charge is called _Robe."_

"But you've seen him?" Vegeta pressed.

"Of course," Ronji said, wiping his eyes and going up to the window. "He lives in that house just over there. It's one hundred and sixty-three steps away. I count every time he comes to bring me something to fix."

163 steps later

This was right. Freeza could figure out that "mystery rebel" business on his own, _Vegeta_ would be the one to kill the leader. Ha! Nothing felt better than being more useful than anyone else on your own terms.

Vegeta exhaled and gripped the doorknob in his tattered glove. He had already checked on his scouter... somebody was home. His eyes took a moment to adjust in the dim light. There was a table in the middle of the room with something on it, caught in a dusty beam of sunlight from the only window.

A severed head.

No eyes or nose, just two bushy eyebrows under a shock of black and white hair. A long beard, matching the hair, was fanned out underneath the head. Vegeta narrowed his eyes, trying to get rid of the feeling that the head was watching him.

The head's eyebrows frowned then relaxed. "Goo?"

"My thoughts exactly," said the alien standing next to the head. Vegeta hadn't even noticed him. He looked normal enough... his face was slightly reptilian... and the soft waves of hair on his head had the same skunky look as the... _thing_ on the table. "Inba wants to know your name, Saiyan."

"That thing's _Inba?"_ gasped Vegeta. " _..._ That thing's _alive...?"_

"Your _name,_ Saiyan."

"Uh, Vegeta."

"This is Inba, my cute pet," the alien said, picking up the head gently, "and I'm Robe."

Aha. "You're Robe?" Vegeta cracked his knuckles. "Good. I finally found you. You got pretty far, but I'm here to shut things down. Any last words?"

"Is he the last one?" Robe asked, talking over Vegeta's head.

"Yeah, the last one worth saving," said a deep voice directly behind him. "But he looks like a breaker. I don't think he'll last."  
Vegeta started to turn around. _What_ —

"Do it now, ya big goof!" Robe laughed. Inba shook in Robe's arms with a little "Goo hoo hoo hoo!"

Trying to turn around, Vegeta stopped dead in his tracks. Something was happening to him. A raw throbbing started deep inside his muscles. His spine. He was on the ground now, almost paralyzed. His body was on fire.

Vegeta had just managed to lift an arm and see long, raised welts growing under his skin when pressure appeared at the base of his skull and he blacked out.


	24. A Vassal's Vessels Carry Courage, Blood

Chapter 24

Vegeta always woke up like a switch had been flipped. It was a natural consequence of being in his line of work; waking up slowly was a luxury that wasn't available when the entire planet wanted you dead. And he had never been able to sleep well in the middle of his missions. He was too wary of getting jumped. The only rest he got was if Nappa was around to keep watch or if he was miles and miles away from any living thing. On Kekken, he had taken two hours of sleep over the course of eleven days. Maybe that was why he was so slow to wake after losing consciousness.

It took Vegeta longer than it should have, realizing what had been done to him.

He was upright, arms at his sides, that much was immediately apparent. His feet hurt. How long had he been unconscious and standing for? He tried moving his right arm to see if it had healed any. Sirens of warning blared in his head. Why? Why was there resistance when he moved his arm, as if he was tied up? Why did he feel a tug at his collarbone and wrists?

Every single Saiyan instinct he had said _Don't move._ Yes... he was definitely tied up. But it was strange how small and thin the ropes were. Loosely wrapped around his arms and legs. Throbbing. _Warm._

Vegeta looked down at his body.

At first he thought it was some sort of alien parasite attached to him. He was covered in red cords, with two thicker ones restraining his arms and legs. They were definitely alive. They pulsed with the beat of his heart.

He was only wearing boxers—his armor and battlesuit were piled up a few feet away. His scouter was nowhere to be found. He shuddered as he saw the dozens of points on his arms, legs and chest where the red ropes were digging under his skin. He didn't feel anything, though whatever parasite this was had to be stealing his blood by the pint. It was amazing that he was still _alive,_ considering...

Oh. _Oh._

Vegeta looked at the ceiling, didn't move a muscle, and tried not to faint right after he'd woken up. The ropes seemed to tighten around him and pulsate faster. In time, he would solve Zarbon and Dodoria's disappearances, why there was no strong rebel power level on Kekken, _and_ the reason why the rebellion had even happened. But for now, the danger he was in was too great to think of anyone else.

He felt sick. _No_... he couldn't puke; bend over and he'd die. His feet hurt. _No..._ he couldn't rest; sit down and he'd die. He heard footsteps outside his door. _No..._ he couldn't fight; get punched and he'd die. _Throw_ a punch and he'd die. Take a step and he'd die.

He was utterly vulnerable this way... with all of his blood vessels on the outside.

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta had been wounded and hungry before, but he could always _move._ Now he was forced to stand upright as time passed, neglected body seizing up and eating away at itself with no food coming in. Any movement, any pressure that he put on his newly external veins and arteries, and they would break. All of his blood would spill out onto the floor. He wouldn't last thirty seconds.

They were wrapped around him so tightly.

Their heat against his skin was making him sweat.

But he could _feel_ the cool air against them.

They were still a part of him.

 _This_ was hell.

Footsteps regularly marched outside the door but no one ever came in. Vegeta was trapped long enough to decide whether or not he should just break his veins and kill himself. It would eliminate any possibility of freedom... as unlikely as it seemed, whoever had done this to him might be able to reverse it. But it was getting to be too much for him, starving and dying of thirst while he listened to the battles happening outside, knowing how much he was missing out. Never mind that he was standing through his final hours; he had been pulled off the field before the game finished.

Vegeta stood there, alone and head bent in the near-dark, for thirty six hours. When the door finally creaked open he was dazed, throat parched and dusty from neglect. He smelled meat. His blood pressure spiked as he recognized the pair of boots in front of him. Those boots had been the last thing he'd seen when his arteries were still inside him.

"I'm giving this to you as long as you promise to listen to me, Vegeta," said the alien, carrying a bowl of soup on a tray. He was clearly a member of Robe's race, though more heavyset.

Vegeta leaned forward and buried his face in the bowl of (chicken) soup. Water... meat... water... good. It wasn't nearly enough, but he at least felt a little more alive.

"You aren't in immediate danger. Since you didn't panic and try to escape like a lot of those idiots, my Flévectomy is just a means of restraining you for as long as I need."

Vegeta looked away. Not in immediate danger? He would believe _that_ only once his veins were back under his skin where they belonged. Even Ronji could kill him now. "How did you do this to me? And why? I don't even know your name."

"Gavel. I'm the second-in-command of the Inba revolution, obviously because of my ability. I could be leader if I wanted, it's not like Robe can fight worth a damn, but I've known him for a long time, so."

"Why did you bother with me?" Vegeta asked in a dead voice.

"I need a reason? You've been setting Freeza on our trail for a long time, never mind the number of us you killed."

"But you have lots of people... _stronger than me_... I was at the end of my rope anyways. If you had left me alone I'm sure I would have either run away or died." He could see why Zarbon and Dodoria needed a... "Flévectomy"... but him?

"Why do you follow Freeza?"

"Don't say 'follow' when I've been planet-hopping through this whole war while he's stayed on 65," Vegeta muttered bitterly.

"Why do you follow Freeza?"

"To fight new people. To fight new people seriously, without worrying about breaking the rules by hurting them," Vegeta said.

"But you only get to fight the less refined races. Aren't you missing out?"

"You mean the IGRIS? They're just spoiled rich people who laze around all day."

"Have you ever seen one?"

"No..."

"Don't you think the more advanced races would have stronger warriors? At this point our half of the galaxy has more IGRIS than not, so you're definitely missing out."

Vegeta checked the soup bowl. Empty. "You want me to join your side and help you kill all the IGRIS as revenge? That's not very holier-than-thou of thou."

"Between you and me," Gavel said, making sure the door was closed, "our forces are the ones out for revenge. Us three at the top, myself and Robe and Inba, we want to rule the galaxy. When we found out that Freeza had beat us to the punch, poor Robe almost gave up. He can't stand unoriginality. But Inba convinced him that once we wipe out you guys and all the IGRIS, Freeza's reputation is gone and we can move to the virgin other half of the galaxy.

Vegeta remembered the Moon Boots Pirates, and how they had barely heard of Freeza. "So you need more people to keep your army going after all the casualties?"

"Well, yes... but also, we don't think too many of our current forces would be willing to become the next Freeza Force. We really want _you_ to switch sides, Vegeta. You have so much experience processing planets and you were set to become the best of your race even before the Saiyans fell. All you Saiyans want is someone to serve that lets you run wild. Why does that someone have to be Freeza?"

"..." What did Gavel just say about the Saiyans? "I'm assuming that you can undo this Flévectomy, but if I don't join you you'll just leave me here to die like this," Vegeta said.

"Correct."

"What's stopping me from agreeing just to go back to normal?"

"I can put them in or bring them out easily. Naturally, if you ever tried to escape or rebel against us I'd put you back."

"Then 'serving' you would be ten times worse than staying with Freeza. I'd be a slave for sure."

"Aren't you already? Aren't we all?" Gavel laughed. "It might seem harsher, more grisly because of my specific power, but Freeza is undoubtedly worse. _We_ would never kill you because we were in a bad mood, or because you delivered the wrong information or used the wrong _tone of voice..._ We don't have the ego. All we care about is that you stay useful and don't get in our way. Doesn't that sound so much better?"

"It's useless. Whether or not you seek him out, Lord Freeza will find you before you get to the nearest IGRIS. It... it doesn't matter if _all_ of us are dead, you won't be able to get Lord Freeza," Vegeta said. It was a hard truth, but Freeza was on a different level. He remembered Ronji saying that he wouldn't be able to make a scouter that could read Freeza's power level even if he had decades.

"I want him to come. It's just as easy to give a Flévectomy to you as it is to someone a hundred times as strong. Power levels don't _matter_ to me. Freeza will fall once his strength is turned against him. I have a few more soldiers in the area to take care of, so you have some time to think. As a gesture of goodwill, I'll make this a little less humiliating." Gavel pulled out a little metal cylinder. "Sorry to exploit your Saiyan weakness, but I'm sure it's better than staying _veined."_ He clicked the cylinder open and fastened it tightly around Vegeta's tail. Vegeta's eyelids drooped and he swayed on his feet. Gavel then put out his hands and frowned with concentration. Vegeta's skin felt hot and wet as his blood vessels sunk back inside of him. He fell to the floor, completely out of energy even ignoring the tailcuff.

"Robe will come to hear your answer in an hour." Gavel waved from the doorway. "I know that you know that I know that you know that I already know your choice." He left Vegeta collapsed on the ground.

 _They were Freeza minus the ego, huh?_ Ever since Vegeta came to 65 he had been careful around that white lizard. Refrained from saying certain things. Bowed his head submissively. Called him _Lord._ Worst of all, he hadn't even noticed until now. The Prince of All Saiyans shouldn't _submit_ to anyone.

Switching sides would just be switching rulers. Vegeta was getting older... he was already having a hard time stomaching orders. Then again... Freeza had almost sucked this part of the galaxy dry. The "rebel" leaders' plans were much more ambitious. But maybe he wasn't trusting Freeza enough... it was hard to imagine him just _stopping_ once he ran out of raw planets.

Vegeta sat up and rubbed his bare arms. His two days of captivity were too stressful for any of his injuries to heal much, but right now, just having his veins back was enough. He got up and stretched. His legs ached terribly but he couldn't afford to lie down anymore. Walls were closing in on him and he needed a miracle. At least Gavel had made three mistakes to get the ball rolling in Vegeta's favor.

One. Vegeta would never join them if they were going to take Freeza down with such a cheap power, whether or not it would actually work. It was sacrilegious to waste such strength. Vegeta was years away from being strong enough to ask Freeza for a sparring match, but he wasn't taking any shortcuts.

Two. Vegeta hated anyone who stole his goals. And if you hated someone, you killed them. It was the Saiyan way.

Three. Vegeta's tail hadn't been a weakness for years. Gavel had just freed him from his so-called "ultimate trap" and walked away.

 _So should he join Robe, Gavel, and Inba? The surprisingly Freeza-like trio who had built the rebellion for an empty cause?_ Nope.

Vegeta donned his armor and quietly left the room. Finding Gavel and his unnatural power was the last thing he wanted to do, but he had no choice. He was the only one who knew about the rebels' secret weapon _and_ could do something about it. It was up to him to find a loophole in Gavel's powers.

Freeza suddenly didn't seem so invincible.

Gavel startled Vegeta by walking around the corner. Vegeta was suddenly back in his room, on the floor and shaking. Gavel hadn't done anything, hadn't even seen him, Vegeta had simply tried to stay out of sight by moving in super speed. That rough jolt was too much for him and something in his foot cracked. His body couldn't keep up with him any more, and now both right arm and left leg were out of commission.

Vegeta dragged himself up against the wall and tried to put some weight on his foot. _Ow._ That was a broken bone for sure. But no matter... Saiyan feet had twenty eight bones each, he could live without one or two. It was more important to keep track of Gavel.

Vegeta gingerly limped out into the hallway. Gavel's scent was leading off to the left—perfect, a door was open. He stayed close to the wall, ready to duck into a room if Gavel came out. Vegeta couldn't let him see that—

 _Oh. That smell._ He had to put a hand over his nose and mouth. Normally the smell of blood didn't bother him, especially when it was this fresh, but Vegeta was programmed to respond to _this_ blood specifically.

Saiyan blood.

Vegeta watched from the safety of an empty room as Gavel stumbled back into the hallway and continued on his way. If the stench of blood hadn't been overpowering everything else, Vegeta might have smelled the sweat, but even so he could see the red face and hear the fast breathing. Gavel was exhausted.

Once Gavel was out of sight, it was Vegeta's turn to visit the room. Just as he suspected. Nappa and Raditz were propped up against each other, unconscious, with newly-exposed blood vessels glistening.

"Sorry guys," Vegeta said quietly, closing the door. He felt bad for them, especially knowing the terror they were in for when they woke up like that, but at least they had each other. He was more interested in the reason why Gavel got tired after veining those two, but not him _._

Vegeta stopped in his tracks. If anyone was going to panic and tear their own veins, it would be two idiots like Raditz and Nappa. But he couldn't waste time waiting for them to wake up. Their deaths would be one more nail in Gavel's coffin. For now...

Seems that whatever building he was in was where all of Gavel's victims were dumped. Which should mean... _bingo._ The very next room he checked contained a weak-looking and Flévectomied Zarbon and Dodoria. As a bonus, they were awake and even looked happy to see him.

"Vegeta! How did you find us?" cried Zarbon. "Never mind, you have to look out for this—"

"Gavel. I know, we've met." Vegeta winced as he accidentally stepped with his wrong foot. "And I know their plans. You two are better qualified to answer than me... do you think he could get F—get Lord Freeza like he got you?"

Zarbon and Dodoria looked at each other. "When he stepped out from behind that tree," Dodoria said, "he got me and Zarbon in about a second. Got winded, but that was all."

"He might be able to..." Zarbon said. "This isn't normal strength. This is witchcraft. But Gavel isn't a fighter. Lord Freeza would rip out his heart or blow the whole planet up before he—"

"Oh, no, that's not going to happen." Vegeta tried to memorize this image of the great _Zarbon and Dodoria,_ weary and helpless for once in their lives. "If Freeza finds it _beneath_ him to fight his own damn war, I'll make sure Gavel never gets within range."

"Oh, sure." Dodoria grunted, then coughed. "Zarbon says the Master would take Gavel out before he got the chance to cast his spell, but he isn't exactly slow with his power and ain't no one told Lord Freeza what he's up against. So be good, kid, and snoop around for a comm to warn him."

"I already know what I'm doing," Vegeta grinned. " _I'm going to kill Gavel._ Freeza doesn't have to know because I'm handling things. Tell me if you think otherwise, but _my_ guess is that they're keeping Gavel on this planet to tie up and tuck away us freakishly strong ones."

"Sure seems that way."

"I think so, too."

"So I'm thinkin' that once the biggest threats are neutralized, our friend Gavel doesn't have any more business here. The next step is to fly over to 65 and get Freeza."

"He's getting ready to leave right now," Zarbon murmured. "They don't care what we hear, trapped like this. It sounds like almost no one is still alive on either side."

"Gotta go right now, then," Vegeta said, shaking his foot. Still broken.

"Hold it!" Dodoria boomed as Vegeta limped away. "You can't just leave us like this. Figure out a way to get us free!"

"I can't make any promises, but I'll ask Ronji. I have to swing by his place anyway."

" _Ronji is_ — _"_

The door closed.

*⁂*⁂*

"Yo."

"You're looking w—worse, Vegeta."

"Says you. I've been through a lot. Get up off the floor, because there isn't much time left and I need your help."

"You came just in time. After today, I don't plan on ever moving again. What is it?"

"So you have this incredibly creepy collection of cells from me and various others."

"Yes."

"And you can use it to track us."

"Yes."

"Have you met Gavel? Same race as Robe?"

"Yes."

"Have you taken some of _his_ cells to add to the collection?"

"Yes."

"How long would it take you to make me a Gavel-tracker?"

"Thirty seconds."

As Ronji worked quickly (catching his last wind before everything fell apart), Vegeta searched the room for food. Nothing. He must have lost ten pounds since landing on Kekken. "Thanks. By the way, do you know how to put blood vessels back inside someone? If they happened to be outside for whatever reason?"

"Huh?"

"I'm asking for some friends."

"... I could try, but it would be messy."

"Let's just say you should keep that task in mind. That's all. Since you helped me go against Inba and co., they'll probably want you gone right after me. Hang in there... Soon, we'll either be dead or back on 65."

Ronji's eyes rolled back and he fell over heavily. That was his last contribution to the war effort. Outside, Vegeta checked his new tracking device. Gavel was about 1500 miles away and travelling fast. This was it. The beginning of the end.

He had to tell himself that it would be easy, catching up. It was the only way that he could take that first painful step of the long run ahead.

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta still couldn't fly. He couldn't run properly on his bad foot, he couldn't compensate with only one arm functional, and he couldn't breathe deeply with his broken ribs. His body was one big knot, so tense it was starting to cramp. He could run a third as fast as he used to, which gave him plenty of time to reflect on how he had absolutely no way of beating Gavel's powers.

Vegeta had been sprinting all-out for fifteen minutes and the corners of his vision were starting to go black. He couldn't hear anything except for the wind, his footsteps, and his shallow breaths. He stole a quick look around.

Buildings lay in ruins around him and the ground was covered in ashes. No one to be seen. With Zarbon and Dodoria locked away, Vegeta had a feeling he knew which side was swirling through the dusty breeze in his wake.

He was the only one left.

Twenty minutes in, Gavel's reading on the tracker stopped. Vegeta really hoped he was stopping because he had reached a spaceship. Gavel was two miles away. He had to time this right... he had a semblance of a plan, and it was over if he caught up too soon.

Dots appeared on the horizon. Vegeta's eyes took too much time to focus. It was a group of rebels, maybe a hundred or so. No one was looking his way, maybe they had just gathered to see Gavel off. But _now_ they noticed him.

For once in his life, Vegeta hoped they were weak. All of them. He also hoped that he could last another thirty seconds before blacking out from the pain, especially considering what he was about to do.

Just before he plowed headfirst through the wall of rebels, Vegeta relaxed. He breathed deeply. Let the shock of making contact with the ground be felt evenly in both feet. Even managed to swing his arm in step a little. He stopped shying away from the pain and accepted it, even though it had just doubled fully.

Diving into the crowd, Vegeta saw Gavel's sleek ship begin to take off. Just twenty feet away and time ground to a halt.

A panel with a handle on the side of the ship, noticed. A hand grabbing his arm, felt. His foot bent cruelly in order to take to the air, damaged. Prey clutched by his working hand in a death grip, killed and captured.

As the spaceship shot into the air, Vegeta ripped open the storage compartment's door and fell inside with his food source for the next three weeks.

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta's quick thinking was the only reason he survived. As a stowaway, he had no access to any _sleep_ timers and therefore had to stay awake through the entire journey. Already half-starved and with nothing to slow down his metabolism, taking the dead rebel with him had saved his life.

The room was cold, cold enough to keep the meat fresh for longer, but also cold enough that he had to use his _chi_ to keep warm _._ It was a shame he had nothing left. Every "meal" gave him just enough energy to keep his heart beating until the next one. For thirteen days, Vegeta survived in that closet-sized compartment. He also learned the difference between surviving and living.

He ate every meal a little slower than the last. And he started to go numb.

First his feet and hands, then up his arms and legs, creeping in through his chest and back, until finally the only things still working were his heart and his brain. His heart was operating tiredly on low power, cycling blood through limbs that couldn't use it. His brain, instead of taking advantage of the free time, could barely string two thoughts together. The most it could do was keep him alive.

Vegeta still didn't sleep, now for obvious reasons. He thought long and hard as the minutes scraped by, but as tens of thousands of minutes died in front of him he only had a few thoughts.

He would last so much longer if he could get to the marrow of his food's bones, but his body would not move even to extend its own life.

Everything that wasn't numb hurt.

He didn't want to die.

The rebellion didn't cross his mind. He had forgotten Freeza's name. The fire of his life had turned to embers, and they had stopped glowing days ago. The only thing that kept them warm was the thought of him dying from exposure. He would _not_ die alone, he would hold on to life with his teeth like a dog if he had to. He needed a death that he could accept.

Everything was so cold. He must had fallen out of the ship and was now drifting in dead space. He couldn't feel his own heartbeat. Everything was so cold.

And then it wasn't. Vegeta had finally frozen solid, every single nerve singed so that he couldn't even feel the cold. He rolled across the floor and slammed against the wall, attacked with crippling pain on impact.

If it hurt, he could feel after all. If he rolled, there was new gravity. He was _shivering._ He could move. He had just thought four things. His brain was working.

He had made it.

The bones rattled all around him as his muscles tensed and relaxed on their own. He would have cried for the first time in his life, but he didn't have enough water. He grabbed a nearby femur and bit it right in half. Marrow. Protein. Mmmm... everything was getting so _warm..._

The compartment shook as the spaceship passed through 65's atmosphere. And Vegeta knew he was in 65... _smells_ were creeping in even through the sealed door, smells that Vegeta had last inhaled five lifetimes ago. Spaceship exhaust. Electricity. Cement. Freeza Force Brand Detergent.

He tried to stand up as the ship's fall smoothed out, but his legs buckled. Maybe in a few minutes. He needed to stop Gavel... Gavel... _Gavel..._

 _BAM._ They had landed.

Vegeta's mind was racing too quickly to hear the sounds of Gavel and his friends waking up. _Think, think, think..._ Everything was coming back at breakneck speed now that his neurons had thawed. But he had nothing. Gavel's trap was flawless.

That was a lie, he had seen something that gave him pause. _What was it?_ Gavel making Vegeta's veins rise and sink effortlessly. Then Gavel coming out of doing the same to Nappa and Raditz looking like he had run a marathon. Something about Nappa and Raditz made it harder to _vein_ them than Vegeta. But what?

They were the same race.

Gavel didn't care about power levels.

Age didn't affect a Saiyan's body until he was much older than Nappa; his blood vessels were in the same condition as Vegeta's.

Dodoria said Gavel had done him and Zarbon easily enough.

A door opening off to the side brought Vegeta back. Gavel couldn't get out of sight... he couldn't lay eyes on Freeza... but Vegeta had lost the tracker back on Kekken.

He opened the hatch slowly. On a reflex, almost before he saw that it was nighttime, he ducked back inside. Why? Were his instincts scrambled after he put himself through so much? No. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he always knew what day of the month it was on his home base. After all, Saiyans weren't allowed to go outside on a full moon night. House rules.

Vegeta crawled out of the ship, eyes on the ground. Yes, he could feel it in the air. 65's moon was full. Freeza had always said making the Saiyan transformation on a Freeza Planet was punishable by death, but he would make an exception _now._ Maybe Gavel would be too surprised to use his power.

Or maybe Gavel's power wouldn't work at all, considering how much trouble he had giving a Flévectomy to someone of Nappa's size. In terms of mass, Vegeta was insignificant next to Nappa. And Nappa weighed a good hundred pounds more than Dodoria and had at least a foot on Zarbon.

Vegeta snapped his head up and drank in the moonlight thirstily. He had never seen something as beautiful as that full moon. His heart was beating out of his chest long before he began to transform... If his hunch was right, Freeza was about to owe him his _life._

Gavel was killed five steps off the landing pad, crushed to death by a giant simian foot. He never saw Freeza in person. Though Robe and Inba still lived, along with millions of their righteous fighters on other planets, the rebels had lost the war.


	25. Splashing Between Ponds

Chapter 25

Vegeta had been so close to dying for so long that a control worker had to hold him up while he met with Freeza. Freeza waited, surprisingly patient, while Vegeta struggled to give a decent report. It took a lot of stopping and starting, but he managed to explain Gavel's powers and the threat he had been.

"I see," Freeza said, snapping his fingers at a passing janitor. Other than Kiwi, there were no soldiers left on 65. "But Mr. Robe, the leader, is still alive? This isn't over until I have his head."

"Don't... worry..." Vegeta slurred. It was getting cold again but Freeza wouldn't let him go. Didn't he have nice warm fur a few minutes ago? He missed it. "Robe... just a politician... weak..." He laughed painfully. His _lungs_ hurt. "Funny... Robe wants t' be like you... _heh heh..._ All'a the rebels think he's angry when... just wants y'r spot..."

"They don't know? Interesting." Just as the janitor returned with a glass of water for Vegeta, Freeza's comm went off.

" _Lord Freeza, please forgive our absence! We were_ — _"_

"Mr. Vegeta has already told me everything, Mr. Zarbon. Since all of my men have done such a good job stifling this insurgence I'm willing to allow all the survivors to return here. There's a little more dusting to be done, but any threat to us has been neutralized." Freeza gave a knowing look to Vegeta. "For now, I would like to know how you escaped."

" _We didn't do anything!"_ This time it was Dodoria's harsh voice coming in through the speaker. " _After being stuck here for_ _weeks_ _, everything just sunk back under my skin."_

 _Knew it,_ Vegeta thought weakly. Whatever magical ability Gavel used was dispelled after his death. "Guys... Ronji's in... house somewhere... last I saw, alive... should find him..."

There were some faint crashes in the background and the comm buzzed as it was wrestled from one set of hands to another. " _Is Vegeta there? Hey! Vegeta!"_

"N... Nappa?" Vegeta strained against the darkness that was creeping up on him once more.

" _I can't believe you beat that guy! I've never been so glad to be alive."_

"You... okay?"

" _Aaah... half starved and weaker than Ronji, but I'll live. Raditz is here, too."_

"I'm glad..." were Vegeta's last words before he fell asleep.

Freeza done with him, Vegeta was rushed to the treatment center and thrown into the last working tank. Ronji didn't have time to fix any of the healing tanks that had been destroyed when the rebels invaded 65, a year ago. He hadn't even taught the other scientists more than basic maintenance. Needless to say, there was a party thrown when news of Ronji's survival came a day later. Vegeta had to spend a solid twenty four hours in the tank, and even after that he didn't wake up. His pulse was healthy, he just needed some natural recovery time.

Freeza smugly watched the rebel forces fall apart. Someone had caught wind that Robe's motives weren't as pure as advertised, and the entire army was either going on a witch hunt for their ex-leader (on the run) or returning to their home planets to pray Freeza wouldn't notice them. He noticed them. He noticed them all. As the five survivors of Kekken returned home, Freeza was already dispatching what remained of his weak left over forces to start the cleanup. And one other thing... "Look everywhere. Ask everyone you find. Killing all of them isn't enough, you have to bring _him_ here. It's a fact that he's been helping the rebels. He's teasing me. His was the power level that set the limit for the original scouters, you know. I'm sick of chasing him. When you find him, tell him that he has a skilled but captainless taskforce waiting for him. Tell him it's time to come home."

Ronji lay on the floor of the spaceship near Nappa and Raditz's feet. Even though it would be three weeks before they reached 65, knowing that he would get to eat mint and chocolate again was all he needed. He owed Vegeta his _life._ And from what he heard, so did Zarbon, Dodoria, and the two other Saiyans. Either way, he never wanted to be on the front lines again.

A curious cafeteria worker found out that Vegeta would eat whatever food was held up to his mouth without waking up. Just about every resident of 65 brought their leftovers to him at some point. Entertainment at its finest. Vegeta slept for fifteen days. The first day was peaceful. He didn't dream of anything. Then a distant hum penetrated the calm nothingness. Vegeta frowned in his sleep, rolled onto his stomach, and tried to open his eyes.

In the dream, they opened to Freeza. Freeza, inches away, staring right through him. Something wrapped around Vegeta's neck. It was Freeza's white tail, thick and disgustingly muscular instead of soft and furry like a tail should be. Pointy black fingernails scratched his face. And he was getting cold again.

His breaths were shallow. He struggled to sit up, but Freeza's three-toed foot was pressing down on his chest. He couldn't breath. Something was in the back of his throat. He coughed it up. It was a piece of his lungs. His mouth tasted bloody and raw.

After days, he finally propped himself up on an elbow. Blood was dripping from his mouth but he couldn't feel a thing. Freeza was gone. Off in the darkness, a tiny point of light appeared. Vegeta wanted to scramble away from it but his body wouldn't do what he told it to. He could only lie there and watch it get closer and closer.

The moment the light skewered Vegeta's heart was the moment he woke up.

He was caught in bed, gasping for air, winded not by the dream but by his power level shooting up so fast it left his breath behind. Oh, that was good. After more than a month of working with his injuries he was finally healed. He had missed the novelty of lying motionless with no pain. His blanket was warm. His stomach was full. Soon he would unwrap the present that was discovering the new limits of his new power. And he had pulled off the most dangerous mission of his whole career, something maybe even Freeza couldn't have done.

The only thing missing was his tail.

" _!"_ Vegeta fell out of bed and hit the ground face-first. He didn't have time to marvel at how falling hadn't hurt, _his tail was gone._ He knew it without looking, but just in case... no, nothing. Now he was the same species as Marone.

Vegeta got up shakily. He felt incomplete. What in the world had happened to it? Had he lost it in the confusion? No, without it he wouldn't have been able to become a Great Ape. Unless...

He ran blindly until he found Freeza. "Did you cut off my tail?" Vegeta demanded. Somehow he knew what Freeza was about to say.

"Transforming on my planet is not allowed, Mr. Vegeta," Freeza said coolly.

 _You know I can control it. I would have just sat on the landing pad until sunrise._

 _You mutilated me._

 _Am I even a Saiyan anymore? I can't transform now, which would have been bad news for **you** a little while ago._

"You couldn't have waited _five hours_ for it to wear off?" was all Vegeta ended up saying, through clenched teeth. Even omitting everything else, he had never spoken so boldly to Freeza. He had also never hated him so much.

"I should have killed you for breaking that rule." Freeza fixed Vegeta with a look that made a chill run down his spine. He was too close to him. "I understand the context for your disobedience—" _disobedience?_ "—so I made a compromise. Would you rather have your tail or your life, Mr. Vegeta? I can made it neither. Three points for your work with the rebellion, but minus one for not realizing how often I spare others. And minus another for what happened on Kekken."

Vegeta blinked heavily to keep the background from fading into black. He didn't want to go back to that dream. "W—what happened?"

One of Freeza's eyes widened, and the other narrowed. "Your orders were to get information on Gavel then relay it to me. You did the former, but got captured first. And you took it upon yourself to _not_ inform me even once you had escaped."

"I think it was better this way," Vegeta muttered. He really shouldn't keep talking, but he couldn't stop himself. "Now you know that I can handle things on my own. If I was unable to receive instructions on an important planet, you could trust me to act in your best interests."

"Good point," Freeza said, smiling in a way that only made Vegeta more tense. "But that doesn't concern me as much as whether or not you can follow orders does. Let's call this little chat of ours 'unofficial', so what business do you have with me?"

Vegeta understood. He needed a less controversial reason for seeking an audience with _Lord_ Freeza. "... I want to leave for a while. Take some time off to visit a planet or two peacefully."

"A vacation for a birthday present? Anything else and you'll be spoiled rotten." Freeza ruffled Vegeta's hair while the Saiyan tried not to recoil. "Happy 15th, by the way. All right. Since you slept through your own birthday, I'll think about it. Get back to me once you've picked a specific place." And that was that.

Vegeta didn't know why he asked for time off. He hadn't planned to, he was just trying to think of something to say and that was what came out. Surely taking a break from missions was more of a punishment to a frenetic Saiyan like Vegeta, right? But now that he could finally settle down and start picking apart everything that happened on Kekken, one idea someone else gave him stuck out again and again. _IGRIS._ That was how Vegeta found himself meeting for the first time with the Director of IGRIS Relations, Freddo. And that was how he found out about _it..._

The Galajūichi Budōkai.

When Vegeta heard what it was, a smile grew on his face. When he heard _where_ it was, his heart nearly lurched up his throat. He grabbed a fistful of glossy informational pamphlets and seemed to dissolve away into the very air before Freddo's eyes.

He was ready to go within a day. Everything was in order. He had toothdrops and a few cloth training suits, but no armor. He had notebooks and pens and pod-friendly food—this time, he wasn't going to waste time travelling there in _sleep._ Freeza had given him enough money to pay the registration fee. He had measured his current power level as instructed: 10,700. (He had gained a phenomenal 500 points from Kekken, the most strength he had earned yet from a single mission.) Nappa and everyone returned in less than a week, but he set off long before that.

His destination? The galaxy-wide martial arts tournament!

*⁂*⁂*

A group of about fifty people, including Freeza and Kiwi, were waiting on the landing pad as the ship touched down. Zarbon opened the door to thunderous applause. Raditz had barely set foot on 65 when Marone pushed through the crowd and jumped into his arms, hugging him as tightly as she could. Nappa and Ronji ignored them and kept walking, but five more steps and Ronji had thrown himself at Freeza's feet, weeping with relief and withdrawal. Freeza said something Nappa couldn't hear over the crowd and flicked his tail for Ronji to get up. Ronji thrashed forwards, trying to stand, run, and bow at the same time, and fell flat on his face. He picked himself up again and made a break for the nearest building with blood streaming from his nose. As Freeza turned to Zarbon and Dodoria, Nappa walked past them by himself.

First he visited the obviously abandoned training centers. They were too clean; the air didn't smell like moving bodies anymore and all the scuffs on the floor had been janitored away. He realized that his training partner, Yapez, was dead. So was Raditz's, a perpetually-scowling terrycloth alien whose name Nappa didn't know.

He wandered around for hours. Of course Vegeta was nowhere to be found. At dinner, the big cafeteria looked empty with only fifty people in it.

"Yeah, there's a few others on duty but this is pretty much all that's left of 65 now," Marone said with a sigh. "Freeza sent every single soldier on the planet to go fight."

"What do you do again?" Nappa asked, bored and pushing around the mush on his plate.

"I'm a strategist... is what I used to say," Marone said, her dark eyes looking down at her plate sadly, "but now that just feels like a lie. Lord Freeza wouldn't let any of us advise him on this rebellion 'cause it was too 'important.' But things have sucked ever since I came here... there were next to no planets left, and now even those have been taken care of."

"What are you talking about?" Raditz spoke up. "You mean planets to be processed? I've been going on missions this whole time and I haven't heard anything like that."

"Have you ever read the archives? It used to take weeks, even days, to travel to most planets. Now it's normal to take months. _Months._ I can't imagine living the way you do. How many years have you burned in _sleep?_ Especially someone like Vegeta. He must have spent more than half his life unconscious."

"The experience makes up for it," Nappa said. "We live twice as much on missions, so long travel times are fine."

"Also, the aging process of our physical bodies slows down a lot while our minds are in _sleep_ ," Raditz said. "Speaking of which, if there aren't any good planets to do missions on, where did Vegeta go?"

"Oh, just to some martial arts tournament," Marone said carelessly.

" _What?!"_ Nappa yelled. "Why the hell didn't he wait for us? Not even me!"

"He got special permission from Lord Freeza. I think you guys have to go hunt down the rest of the rebels."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Nappa mumbled.

"If the rebels are just the surviving native races and Lord Freeza wants them all gone—I'm sure he does—then it's like doing all the missions at once!" Raditz was amazed at such a concept. "We'll make a clean sweep."

"Yeah..." Nappa was getting more unhappy as each minute passed. "... But I can't see the future anymore. Once the rebels are gone, there's nothing left. And 65 was supposed to be the elite Freeza Planet... now it's just a bunch of janitors. Who knows how many of the weaker soldiers will die on this last mission? At the end, Lord Freeza will be left with a few crumbs for an army and nothing worth seizing. I don't understand."

"I see what you mean," said Raditz, frowning. "What's even weirder is how calm he is. Does he not see what's coming?"

Marone rolled her eyes. "Probably. Anyone who ignores my strategy doesn't have any of their own, true fact."

Everyone on 65 was growing anxious with the way Freeza was acting. He spent too much time out of his offices nowadays, _smiling_ at whoever he came across and looking out at his half-destroyed planet. He even came to see the two interns, Shun and Ree, off on their errand.

"Don't worry if you don't find anything," Freeza told them cheerfully. "I'll hold Mr. Ronji accountable. Just travel quickly and report back as soon as you can... this is _not_ something you two can take your time on, understand?"

Shun and Ree gulped, nodded, and jumped in their spaceships. Receiving orders unrelated to planet processing was uncomfortable and confusing for all, but they didn't need to be on the same page as Freeza in order to serve him.

Of course, Freeza didn't think it was necessary to explain that he was just in a good mood because the rebel cleanup was off to a smooth start... and so were his plans for the future. He remembered an especially pleasing conversation that had taken place that morning and had to resist the urge to do a dance of joy.

Mr. Ginyu had been located and was on his way.

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta had barely begun analyzing his first day on Kekken when he sensed something. He turned around halfway and stared at the curved wall inches from his nose. He had spent years floating in space, usually alone. He could _feel_ when someone was with him.

He went back to his notes, ignoring the far-off presence. He would find out who was following him when he reached his destination.

It took Vegeta's pod one month to speed to the closest edge of the galaxy. One more day of travel after that and he reached the billboard. It was about ten feet by fifteen feet, equipped with a computer and six small rockets. The computer's GPS (Galactic Positioning System) worked with the rockets to keep the sign fixed at the exact same coordinates listed in Vegeta's pamphlet. Vegeta tilted his head to read the sideways display on the drifting board.

 _ **OFFICIAL GALAJŪICHI BUDŌKAI BOARDING AREA #29734**_

 _ **00d 01h 17m 57s**_

A countdown. Vegeta thanked fate for getting him there on time. He had reached his limit of being stuck in that inhumanely cramped spaceship last week. He wouldn't be able to handle waiting around another ten days for the countdown if he had missed it.

That hour passed in a silence that was almost painful without movement to soften it. Vegeta didn't break his eyes away from the glowing red numbers the entire time. His books were full and his analysis was complete. For now, he had done all the technical study he could ever want. It was time to _do,_ not _think._

Vegeta's ship was programmed according to the pamphlet's instructions. On his signal, it would shoot straight down the y-axis at a steady speed of 1.5 mkm/s for ten seconds. His finger hovered over the button.

 _ **0d 0h 0m 6s / 5s / 4s...**_

Seeing the two spaceships float in front of Vegeta's window almost made him miss _**0s**_. His finger jammed painfully against the button just in time.

The ships were so good at what they did that, save for some gentle tremors, the billboard disappearing was the only sign that they were moving. The two other travellers—obviously fellow soldiers, given their fighter pods and armor—each eyed Vegeta then shared a nod and a thumbs-up between themselves.

Inside his own ship, Vegeta was shaking with anger—stark contrast to the cerebral peace of the past month. _Freeza. He sent two dogs after me! Does he think I'll run away again? After_ —

Vegeta's thoughts were interrupted when his ship collided with the fastest moving planet of all time, Sazz. It sunk into the spongy surface until it was completely submerged and out of harm's way.

Vegeta didn't look at the underground parkade outside his window, or the many exotic ships from all corners of the galaxy that surrounded him. He was too busy thinking of _Freeza._ _This is disgusting. I'm not_ _ **seven years old**_ _anymore! After all I've done for him, he_ _ **still**_ _doesn't trust me? What does it take?!_ He couldn't believe that—

 _Paff paff paff._ A powdery white doughnut was trying to knock on his window. Vegeta snapped out of his anger long enough to gather up his things and tip the valet to roll his ship out of the way. He received a ticket to the lower levels of parking that he tucked into his duffel bag for safekeeping.

This wasn't the place for spending thoughts on Freeza. After growing up around standardized round ships, seeing all the different shapes, textures, and _smells_ that a spaceship could have was mind-boggling to Vegeta. Many of the ships had the same insignia that was on the billboard from earlier—six foamy waves crashing down on a beach of black sand sprinkled with white starfish. It was familiar somehow... after a good twenty seconds of digging, Vegeta remembered that it was the IGRIS symbol. He almost hadn't recognized it.

Without even leaving the parking lot, Vegeta was already discovering how little he knew. He would have to be satisfied with just roughing his pursuers up a bit and getting them to tell Freeza he could handle himself.

Except they were nowhere to be found. Vegeta thought he saw one of their ships being moved around a corner, but he wasn't sure. Oh, well. He didn't have anything to hide. If he saw them again, he'd give them a message for Freeza, but he wasn't going to waste time seeking them out.

He had a whole planet full of fighters to meet.


	26. Groove Outta Sight

Chapter 26

Day 3 (in the Galajū's 10-day cycle, that is)

In terms someone from Earth would understand, Sazz was a special planet. The parking hemisphere that Vegeta and all the other Galajū-goers landed on had a crushing gravity fifteen times that of our own planet's. The gravity on the rest of Sazz, a mere 5G, was calmer and similar to any Freeza planet as well as most of the places Vegeta had been to. For a planet the size of our moon, such gravity shouldn't be possible. But again, Sazz was special. Like the moon, it was fixed inside its own orbit. Unlike the moon, it orbited the center of the galaxy, though its path stuck to the outskirts. It wrapped around every solar system, containing them, drawing a clear border separating their galaxy from the rest of the universe. Sazz made a complete trip around the circumference of the galaxy every ten days.

There was no planet more suited to hosting a galaxy-wide martial arts tournament. All day every day, Sazz's soft landing area was pounded with millions of arrivals and departures. The population always stayed at about 10 million, because for every person that landed to see the next tournament, there was someone taking off to go home from the last one.

With spaceship parked and overnight bag in hand, Vegeta and a current of aliens followed the green signs that led to a narrow set of metal doors, unattended. Past these was a moving sidewalk that ran through a corridor lined with the most gorgeous high-definition stills of people fighting. The sidewalk moved fast, much faster than walking speed, and the photographs were arranged so that Vegeta and everyone else could watch an animated fight on their way from one end of Sazz to the other.

After ten minutes the sidewalk slowed and flashed dismounting warnings. They all faced two doorways marked "audience" and "contestants." Vegeta joined the smaller group filing through "contestants." Then it was up a clean marble staircase, very long, Vegeta's pulse picking up, people all around him breaking into a run and he couldn't help but join them, and the next second they crested over the top.

Vegeta blinked as spots flooded his vision—this new area was saturated with natural light and noise. Even his spots were different; they were sparkling and colored in pastel blues, greens, pinks and reds. No, those were actual objects in the room... Saiyan-sized clusters of light standing all in a line. Vegeta watched in confusion as the people ahead of him ran up and hit hands with... "high-fived"... the light clusters one after another.

"Watch it!" Hands pushed him out of the way just as a tusked giant twice the height of Nappa lumbered past. Whoever had pushed him was _strong,_ strong enough to knock him off balance. Vegeta stumbled around to see a girl with clear eyes, smooth skin, and slimy-looking orange hair. She was still in the contestants' line but stopped when they made eye-contact. "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"Of course not, if you did I'd—"

"—Good," she interrupted, only sounding cheerful because she hadn't heard what he had been about to say. "Good, or maybe you're in shock and can't feel the pain yet? Either way, if you need some help you can look to me." And to Vegeta's actual shock she grabbed his hand and pulled him—actually _pulled_ him—back in line. He tried to break free but her grip just tightened. In an instant he was standing still in the middle of a small room with his armor in the corner, a chill wafting through the air... but the girl let go and it all disappeared. With a glance and a smile over her shoulder at him she held out her hand and began to high-five her way down the energy line. Reluctantly, Vegeta followed her. His hand went right through the first blue palm of light, but it _stung_ and

 _Welcome to the Galajūichi Budōkai!_

Before Vegeta could recover from whatever _that_ was, he was already hitting the next one, green this time,

 _Enjoy the energy-rich food served in every restaurant with ingredients locally sourced from the forest of Sazz!_

The voice was in his head. Like a _thought._ It was repulsive, he had to

 _You have arrived on_ _ **day**_ _ **3**_ _, well into the preliminary matches. But don't worry_ — _there's plenty of time for you to fight your own matches and see if you qualify for the_ _ **Galajūichi Budōkai semi-finals**_ _, which will take place on the_ _ **7th**_ _,_ _ **8th**_ _, and_ _ **9th**_ _days. Remember,_ _ **day**_ _ **10**_ _is completely devoted to the single match between the two strongest people in the galaxy!_

 _Please note that use of the training rooms follows a strict queue and is limited to one hour per group! Show up early for a good spot on the waitlist to get the training time you need!_

His hand felt more and more raw after every

 _Popular destinations include Chickplus park! Tournament City plays host to the Galajūichi, and it's peppered with gift shops! They have sweets! Souvenir spaceship decals! Posters illustrating dramatic moments from past matches! Their newest release: a thrilling video of the legendary battle between Martial Martian Mik and Reefus!_

 _Speaking of, don't forget to sign your photo-and-video-for-promotional-purposes form at registration! Participation in the Galajū is forbidden without it!_

 _Signature Garry sashes! Limited edition!_

 _Train your mind at the dramatic, but historically accurate, Museum of War!_

 _Pay your respects at the tragic "Tomb of 1,000,000 Artists!"_

 _What on Sazz went wrong? Detailed analysis of last cycle's controversial semi-finals, held on day seven in the plaza!_

Finally having gone through the whole line, Vegeta stumbled free feeling like he'd been chewed up and spat out. His entire palm was a bright cherry red. He stared at it in horror, not paying attention to the registrar in front of him trying to pass over a form.

"Valued guest," the registrar prompted impatiently. "Please sign our—"

"What is this?" Vegeta demanded, shoving his red hand in the man's face.

"The Cheeings—that's _chi beings,_ yes, beings made of _chi_ —were simply taking a flesh sample. It adds your genetic code to their hivemind as a contestant to give you priority in queues and know your location to send reminders for upcoming matches. That sort of thing."

"Tell me how to reverse it," Vegeta said instantly. Neither the registrar nor the red Cheeing nearest to them knew, but a larger clump of _chi_ floated his way and told him by speaking unpleasantly in his head. Then he was running backwards down the opposite side of the line and hitting all the Cheeings' other hands with his raw one.

Vegeta watched the excited line of new contestants move along for perhaps a minute, before quietly walking through the side door marked "audience."

*⁂*⁂*

"Um, excuse me! Hey, you!"

Having found his sleeping quarters and dumped his things, Vegeta was so hard at work deciding whether or not he'd made a huge mistake as he left the building that he completely missed the voice. He looked up with a start as the orange girl from before stepped in front of him.

"What happened to you?" she asked lightly. "I was waiting at the contestant's exit but you never came out."

"Yeah, I didn't," Vegeta said, continuing past her. She followed at his side.

"You got your prelim schedule, right? How many fights are you down for?"

"I changed my mind. I'm not competing."

"Ah, yes," the girl said wisely. "It's your first time here, I can tell. No shame in getting a lay of the land first, it helps with nerves."

"What are you talking about?" Vegeta asked coldly, picking up his pace. "What's your power level? No, don't tell me. Is it over 10,000?"

She ducked her head. "Uh... yes, I think it is. I haven't checked in a while. 10,000... that's a _tall_ order, so you must be up there as well. Do you want a match? Is that what you were thinking?"

"Yeah. I came here to fight." _... And I'm going to do it without sleep-fighting a bunch of 1,000s in the preliminaries,_ he didn't add. This girl was one more question away from becoming annoying, but she was okay where she was now. As long as she really was more than 10,000...

"Then why did you...? I have a spot held in training room 57, fifteen minutes from now," she said. "It's for one person only and audience members aren't allowed, but I think I can sneak you in..."

"Lead the way." To Vegeta, the look on the girl's face and her tone of voice were familiar. She thought she was going to win before they had even started. Just as well, because he thought _he_ was going to win.

*⁂*⁂*

 _A man had a good lunch and he was still hungry so he decided to make brownies. Everything was going well until he tapped an egg against the side of the bowl and it wouldn't crack. He hit it harder. Nothing. Harder still, harder than he would have thought necessary. Nothing. He felt a brief flash of anger and the urge to lie the egg on the table and crush it under his hand but he stopped himself. He couldn't get kicked out of this youth hostel, it was forty degrees below outside and he had nowhere else to go._

 _The egg cracked neatly on the fourth tap, anyways._

*⁂*⁂*

"Hey. Get up, our time's almost over," Vegeta said to the girl, Mata, on the floor.

"Wh—whew. Good fight," she panted, wiping her forehead on her sleeve and climbing to her feet. "Your name's Vegeta? You should have _registered._ I would have made sure to look out for you in the prelims."

"Wouldn't do any good, the way you lost," Vegeta smirked. She stared at him. "Oh, I mean, you're pretty good, uh, very _balanced,_ just not good enough."

"I'm sure you're right," Mata said with a strangely benevolent look in her eyes. The ceiling bell chimed and it was time to switch out with the next batch of contestants. Mata distracted the door guards, old friends of hers, while Vegeta slipped past.

"I guess it doesn't matter if they catch you," Mata said thoughtfully on their way out of the building. "It's not like they can kick you out of the tournament."

"Kick me out?" Vegeta looked behind him at the guards, whose gazes rested a solid two feet over his head. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking. With a planet like this, they could dump us years and years away from where we got on. Who wants that?"

"Oh, they wouldn't do that," Mata scoffed. "Especially if the rules—"

"Then again, getting off on _that_ side might not be so bad," Vegeta said to himself. "Our half's finished. Boring. Done-and-dusted."

"What are you talking about? Oh,"—Mata noticed the fading sunlight (generated by LEDs in the atmosphere, of course)—"are you one of those solar-powered ones? In that case, I better get you back. I hope your room's set up with a light generator."

"Mm. Good fight," Vegeta said, lost in his thoughts. "You're right, it's time to go to bed. How about another match tomorrow morning?" Then he backtracked. "Unless you want to save your energy for your official matches, that is..." Would a non-Saiyan ever turn down a fight?

"No, let's do a rematch tomorrow!" Mata said, eyes sharp. "I have to get stronger even during these few days if I want to win. I have to beat you, at least. I don't know why you didn't register, Vegeta, but if you're an audience member I can't lose to you again."

"Okay. 'Night."

They went their separate ways. Vegeta was already looking forwards to fighting Mata again—her reflexes were strong, her technique was sophisticated, and beating her had been a challenge—but one girl wasn't enough to make this trip. Today made a small splash from falling into the pond, but tomorrow he'd have to start swimming.

Day 4 of 10

"Someone at my age with my power level can only go so far. This Galajūichi will be my last, though I've made enough friends here for the rest of my fishy life."

Vegeta gave a look of mild interest to the teary-eyed group of people surrounding a speaker, but didn't stop on his way to the water station. Mata joined him seconds later.

"You're holding out longer than you did yesterday," Vegeta remarked, handing two glasses of ice water to her and pouring another two for himself. After gulping down the first, they threw the second into each other's faces.

"I told you, I'm not going to lose to an audience member," Mata said mysteriously, the water sliding off her hair like it was nylon and splashing on the floor.

"..." There was only one reason Vegeta bothered fighting her again. "You're hiding something and I'm going to find out what it is."

Mata shrugged with a smile. "Expect to be disappointed. I'm a straight-forward kind of girl. We better get back, the hour's almost half over and it feels like we've barely started."

Twenty minutes later, Vegeta was well past pissed. She was _obviously losing._ But even as she took his hits she didn't look surprised, and therefore didn't look like she was losing. She looked like she was letting him win. He knew it wasn't appropriate or safe to break out his full strength in a sparring match, but _she was asking for it..._ "Are you doing this because you want me to go there? Because I will," Vegeta said, trying to stay calm.

"I'm not doing anything besides my best," Mata said, crawling out from under his hands with effort. "And I can only assume you're doing the same."

"Simple talk from a simple girl, huh?" Vegeta sneered. "I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt... why are you making it so hard? If there's really nothing else to you, I'm walking out of here right now and I'll mark the fight we had yesterday as wasted time."

"Hey!" Mata was indignant at that. "Is nothing sacred? Come back! What are you doing?" She went to chase after him.

"The only way you won't lose to me, an _audience member,_ is if I withdraw. I'm doing you a favor. So long, Mata, and thanks for being such a pain in—" Vegeta gasped as a hard blow rammed into his back. He fell face-first to the ground, the wind knocked out of him. He had barely rolled over and started to breathe again when he saw Mata slip out the doors, face wracked with a strange combination of anger, anxiety and a look like she was on the verge of hitting herself on the head.

She stopped in the hallway and turned. "Meet me for lunch tomorrow?" Vegeta, still stuck on the ground, could only nod in amazement. And then she was gone.

Facing his own distracting mixture of confusion and embarrassment, Vegeta needed a break. Somehow he'd managed to get roped into fighting one single person when the whole point of coming here was _variety._ It must be the errand he still needed to do. Okay, he'd pop out for an hour to take care of it and then return with a clean slate.

Vegeta rode the moving sidewalk back to the parking hemisphere. Those two dogs were on his mind, and he knew that once he gave them a lesson and a message he would have no more distractions and this would _work_.

He had planned on finding their ships first and going from there. He found _his_ easily, and asked one of the powdery white valets where two others of the same make were, but no dice. The valet searched the computer system and said his, Vegeta's, was the only combatant pod (he called it a "single-rider model") on the planet.

"Am I losing my mind?" Vegeta muttered to himself. He knew he had been followed from the billboard, and he was _sure_ he had seen one of their ships being taken away when he first got out.

"Probably," said the donut valet. "If you say they got on at the same time as you, that is."

"They could have just left early."

"Impossible. Everyone leaves the day they board on. If that wasn't the rule, we'd change from a tournament to a galactic bus service."

Vegeta wandered away. Well... if they were off the planet, that was good enough. He'd be nice and let them off the hook. If they had really left, that is. If they showed up again to bother him, they'd be dead. That was a nice compromise.

Vegeta clapped his hands together with satisfaction, looked up, and realized he was lost. No big deal. Sure, the parkade was dimly lit and nearly empty, but he'd find someone to ask for directions eventually. Noticing a heavy-looking industrial door across the lot, he hesitated to go back the way he came. His back was starting to hurt and his breathing was getting labored from the gravity. _15G_ _... three times as much as the Freeza Force's_ _5G_ _,_ he remembered. It was exciting, losing energy from just walking around, just _existing_ under this gravity. He wanted to know how long he could last training in it.

 _But that's impossible,_ Vegeta thought as he crossed the lot. _With all these rules, there's no way they would let me spend time down here, especially with all these expensive spaceships lying around._

He opened the door, unlocked but heavy under the gravity. The grating screech and the dark and dusty room inside whispered its abandonment to Vegeta. The room was much smaller than the parkade, though still larger than his quarters on the other side of the planet. Noticing the wall-to-wall panel across from him sent a shiver down Vegeta's spine. The heat coming off of it... the smell of rare metals and electricity... and the humming that was both high and low in pitch... this machine almost had an aura of its own. He didn't know its purpose, but he could sense its importance.

Other than that ominously unknown piece, this room was perfect. Large enough and out of the way. Obviously forgotten. Vegeta wanted to stay and explore this new possibility, mostly to stay in the strangely comforting weight of 15G, but he had to get back. The preliminary matches of the day had already started. He carefully noted the section number on the wall of his abandoned parkade and proceeded to walk around for an hour and a half without running into a single valet. He was getting the feeling that visitors weren't expected to spend time in the parking hemisphere during their stay.

By the time he finally found his way out and around the planet, he was too late. Standing in the bustling central plaza for a minute was all it took to hear that the matches were over. The sky was blushing with the faintest hint of rouge, the cool air carried the scents of food cooking for supper, and Vegeta had lived through a day so unproductive he couldn't stand it. Fighting Mata for a measly sixty minutes? Not enough. Not even close.

Vegeta's heart started beating harder. He was suddenly aware of every single alien around him—eating something deep-fried to his left, arguing with parents behind him, holding hands and chattering away around the corner. He swallowed and flexed his fingers, eyes darting around. He had always lived his life in one of three states: travelling through deep space in deep _sleep..._ training for hours every day... and going on missions. So which state was he in now?

The best way to get rid of crowds was to blow up the entire area at once. He found the tallest buildings that would create the biggest piles of rubble, the buildings with glass that would fly out into the eyes and under the feet, the path he would take to slice the crowds of people in half as the world around them collapsed... He was already going into extermination campaign mode on the second day. He'd have to train on his own for _hours_ if he wanted to shake these thoughts. Maybe coming to the Galajū was a bad idea, maybe he wasn't enough of a civilian...

Vegeta's thoughts were cut by a clatter and a cry. A young woman had collapsed ahead of him, knocking over a medical machine attached to her with tubes. A man of her species (same short legs and long body, same thin face and wavy hair, same blue circles decorating each cheek) bent over her prone form, hands probing her neck as he let out another pitiful wail.

The first thing that Vegeta noticed as he passed them was that the machine's tubes snaked out of sight into the woman's mouth, stuffing it full with maybe five or six plastic ones of varying size. The second thing he noticed was that the woman was unconscious and definitely not breathing. He continued on his way.

 _"Daylee Chou, where are you?!_ She's in a pinch again!" No one in the nervous crowd responded to the panicking man, even though everyone had stopped to watch. "No... _oh, dear..._ stay with me! Maj... Maj! Don't go, please don't go, it's too soon... We haven't even seen _one_ fight yet!"

Vegeta calmly backtracked. "What happened?" he asked the weeping man.

"Sh—she's been sick for a long time... we brought a nurse, but we lost track of him..." The man almost fell on top of the woman, his arms were shaking so badly. "... I think her heart may have stopped."

Vegeta kneeled down beside them and confirmed it: no pulse. _I wonder..._ The man jumped to his feet and pushed away into the crowd, but Vegeta didn't notice. _Could I do it? Without killing her?_

He rose, slowly and thoughtfully, and pointed the first and middle fingers of his right hand at the woman. They started to glow as he concentrated his _chi,_ a familiar sight. This was one of his favorite attacks, the one where he just pointed at someone and they _burst,_ though he could only use it on opponents who were much weaker than himself. He had almost forgotten its original purpose, taught to him foolishly by a doctor whose name didn't matter. He had misused it for so long that he doubted it would work, but if it did, he would have to transplant an amount of _chi_ smaller than ever before.

Here goes.

Daylee Chou, the nurse, arrived on the scene five minutes later. He apologized for stopping at a gift shop as he was dragged shamefully through the crowd. His employer threw him, even more shamefully, at the feet of a young boy with jet-black hair and tanned skin.

"My goodness, Daylee, do you know what this boy has just done? You must thank him for handling our emergency in your absence."

"I thank you with my highest regards," Daylee mumbled to Vegeta, head bowed in failure.

"And thank him on my behalf."

"Additionally, the prince thanks you with his highest regards."

"And Maj, too."

"The princess thanks you with her highest regards as well." Maj was on the ground sucking for air, struggling but alive. Her eyes briefly lingered on Vegeta's face, then unfocused as she strained to breathe through the tubes. Daylee, overeager now, rushed to her side and began something that Vegeta could barely see over his shoulder. It was probably intentional, because in the next second the prince had set up a flowery privacy screen around the nurse and the princess. But still the crowd of people didn't disperse, and after a moment a hand stuck out of one end of the screen and quickly beckoned Vegeta over.

Daylee Chou was in the middle of a complicated dance with the tubes, pulling and adjusting and filling bags with clear blue gel and purple fluid. Vegeta was sure he saw Daylee's arm down Maj's throat past the elbow but the next second he was using both hands to stick an IV in her arm. The prince was kneeling at Maj's side and holding her hand, in a daze.

"I know you didn't have a choice to help her, given how valuable she is," Daylee said, not looking away from his work, "but I'm really impressed you were _able_ to help her in the first place. Take this." He shoved a fistful of Uni at Vegeta in between tasks. "That's also to forget what you're seeing here, and to find a way to get the crowd moving along. We don't want them staring anymore. Okay? Shove off now."

Still not having said a word, Vegeta stepped away with his money. The bizarre scene caught up with him and he had to laugh. He didn't mind that he missed the preliminaries anymore. He had just _saved someone's life,_ essentially by accident, and a pretty important someone by the looks of things. And now he had a crowd of people to scatter that was growing bigger by the second as the news spread.

Maybe he'd fire off a few small _chi_ blasts instead of one big one. At least to start.

Some people screamed and some people laughed as a shower of mini comets rained down on the plaza, but most of them were running in the other direction and none of them were paying attention to the three royals anymore. With his prince carefully holding the screen above them as cover, Daylee Chou carried Maj and her equipment towards their nearby apartment building. He didn't think anyone had seen anything too revealing. Good. Part of his job was, after all, to make sure the prince and princess's presence at the Galajū was mysterious and dignified. Even though he felt absolutely sick and lied about gift shops when he really had to run off somewhere private. He had to get a grip on himself and do his job properly. It was the least he could do—this was the last time Princess Maj would be allowed to leave the Cloute Kingdom.


	27. Get You Down, Beat You Down

Chapter 27

Day 5 of 10

"Do you eat anything other than eggs?" Vegeta asked Mata. They were having lunch at the Dough-gi Bistro, a modest restaurant aimed at contestants rather than audience members, and Mata had ordered yet another egg-related dish. Today it was six hard boiled ones lying on a bed of lettuce. Vegeta watched her carefully scrape off the salt and pepper and ignore the lettuce.

"Nope." Mata ate the first egg in one bite, then cringed and took a drink of water.

Vegeta laughed at her. "I want to say you remind me of a friend, but you always seem so _upset_ to be eating them. Why not try something else? The food here's pretty good."

"I can't," Mata said sadly. "Every calorie of non-egg food takes one point off my power level. And I'm really sensitive to fat so I'm always nauseous."

"That's _terrible!"_ Vegeta said, laughing even harder. "I can't imagine having to worry about food like that. Your life must be hell."

"Anyway, I wanna have another match if you aren't mad at me for running out on you yesterday."

"Sure." Vegeta smirked. He had her figured out with the last fight. This time she would use her full strength, and this time she would expect to win. But this time, he would beat her regardless and beat her soundly at that. Mata had no idea what she was getting into. He had spent two hours training in that room in the parking hemisphere earlier in the morning. Even such a small amount of time had left him so weak he could barely lift his own arms, but thirty minutes in the healing tank had fixed that. Now, with the Saiyan power boost he earned, he was definitely going to surpass Mata. He'd have to find someone else on his level.

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta hurried out of the training room, red-faced. _What the hell?_ It wasn't supposed to go like that. She had been the one who attacked his back with such power the day before... hadn't she?

"Wait, Vegeta!" Mata ran after him. "Aaargh, I lost again! Even though I thought I was going to at least tie with you for sure. You're so strong."

"What are these lies?" Vegeta stopped in his tracks and turned around, eyes wide. "I know what you can do. Why pretend? Why _lose on purpose?_ Haven't I made it clear I want you at full power? Do you know who I am? I'll—" He cut himself off and looked away, head pounding. _He couldn't kill her._ Even if he went all out... the Galajū had a strict no-murder policy and the biggest powers in the galaxy to enforce it. Break the rules on that scale and he'd get smoked for sure.

"What do you mean 'lies'?" Mata asked curiously, either unaware of his anger or safe knowing the rules protected her.

"Stop. Stop. We both know what your full power is, and I wanted you to go all out... I didn't think there was a civilian alive who could keep up with me in the first place..."

"Civilian? Are you _special?"_ Mata glared at Vegeta. "Don't get pissy with me when I'm the one who lost three times in a row. You aren't even competing and I can't beat you. How do you think that makes me feel?"

"Shut—I didn't train all morning for someone who won't take me seriously!" Vegeta yelled.

"Quit acting like I'm any stronger than this, I'm _trying!_ As hard as I can." Something in the way Mata paused sounded unforgivably fake, but she continued without missing a beat. "And as for you training all morning! You can't be serious! Do you actually think you're the only one who's _working_ here? I trained all morning, too! I spar with a group every day after supper for six hours. If you've just been taking strolls and training with me when you feel like it, I'm _amazed_ I lost. I'm amazed your power level is over 5,000."

Vegeta grabbed Mata by the shoulders and violently pushed her against the wall and she _didn't even look scared._ "Are you calling me soft?"

"Y—"

Vegeta's fist cracked the cement wall a millisecond after Mata got out of the way. "Anyone ignorant enough to speak to a _Saiyan_ like that can only blame themselves for what happens. I'm going to show you who I really am before the week is out. And you'll _need_ that secret power of yours if you want to be left alive. _Get ready."_ He stalked off to find the moving sidewalk.

"... Saiyan...?" Mata said quietly to herself. _I must have misheard. No tail._

*⁂*⁂*

In the room, even warming up left him shaky and exhausted. He'd never gotten so much out of training alone. It was so good to be _challenged_ again. He never wanted to leave. And the time was finally right to get started on his little plan.

Sazz had three buildings reserved for official matches. The smallest one hosted semi-finals that took place over the seventh, eighth, and ninth days. The preliminaries that decided the twelve semi-finalists happened in the second-largest building. And the championship match, happening on the tenth day, got an entire stadium to itself.

As Vegeta approached the preliminary building, throngs of people were already streaming out of its giant entranceway. The preliminaries were open to the public, but only a few thousand people bothered to show up daily. He took a breath and passed the crowd to go around the back of the building. There he found a smaller set of double doors with a neon sign that flashed "CONTESTANT'S ENTRANCE" at him.

Vegeta took a seat and began to wait.

After ten minutes, the door opened for the first time. Out stepped a pudgy serpentine alien. "How did your matches go?" Vegeta asked cheerfully.

"Right awful. This one only won one—"

"Have a good day." The alien gave him a confused look, but moved along quickly enough.

Next came a tusked beast, as tall as Nappa but probably a hundred pounds heavier.

"Win or lose?"

It grunted. "Harumpf. Won three, lost two."

Good enough. "Fight me," Vegeta said, jumping off his rock. The frustration that had been building up in him all day was dangerous—for Tusky. Vegeta nearly took his life with one explosive punch. "You lost, so give me twenty minutes of your time." Vegeta helped the terrified contestant to his feet. The two of them blocked the next people from leaving. It was a group of five, and three of them had won most of their matches. Vegeta fought those three in quick succession, six seconds apiece. Then he recruited them.

Over the next two hours, with his growing army of helpers, Vegeta stopped every contestant that used the door. The half that lost more than two matches, he didn't bother with, of course. He ended up fighting three hundred people from across the galaxy. Out of those, fifty lasted more than thirty seconds. Out of those, eight forced him to use his full power. And out of those, one impressed him.

It was the 278th round for Vegeta. His opponent had the same round body type as the valets, but there was nothing donutty about this one. Its shell-like skin was midnight blue and shiny. Its body was segmented at the joints. And its black eyes gleamed from behind two slits in its armored head.

"Not fighting you. Won all m' matches, bored."

All of them? That was a good sign. "So have I," Vegeta said, waving his contestant lackeys away to give them more room. "Why don't we find out who deserved their wins? I'm betting on myself... after all, I've gone 277 matches undefeated..."

 _"277?"_ The armored contestant's face cracked apart, exposing wide eyes that rolled around dementedly and a mouth that stretched into a smile full of pointy teeth. "Changed m' mind. Sinkgi. Do it. Do it now."

Vegeta had pegged Sinkgi for one of those slow, tough types, but the beetle was spinning and rolling and cartwheeling through their whole match. The excitement and fighting spirit came off of him in waves, even when he started to lose. Vegeta couldn't help but let down his guard a little, stop trying to fight a perfect fight and take more risks. It was so _fun._

The crowd, swollen with contestants who Vegeta hadn't even told to stay, watched the match in amazement. Hadn't that Sinkgi come alone? And wasn't this his first time? No one knew a thing about him, since he didn't talk. But after his first few prelims, people had started to notice him as a chaotic ball of energy that had overwhelmed his opponents instantly. After the matches, he flatlined again. Now everyone was uneasy around him... he had a sort of crazy air about him, one that showed up at random times, the worst kind.

And then there was this dark-haired kid, going toe to toe with Sinkgi _voluntarily._ He was strong, too.

No one realized Vegeta's game until the very end. Even if he looked like he was on Sinkgi's level, there were certain things that separated a soldier in the Freeza Force from the typical martial artist...

Sinkgi didn't know he had lost until he looked up and realized Vegeta was fully prepared to go on for hours. He resigned.

Vegeta got Sinkgi to wait on the sidelines while he finished up. Pushing through those last few matches was tough, but he had just enough energy left to avoid embarrassing himself with a loss. By the time it was all over, Sinkgi's face had closed and any hint of life was gone.

"C'mon," said Vegeta, beaten and bloody and happy the way only a Saiyan could be. _300 matches. Not bad. Felt like being on a mission, minus the kills. Not bad._ They began to walk across the contestant's district. "It sounds like no one knows anything about you. Where are you from?"

"You wouldn't know," Sinkgi mumbled. "Family's private planet. The air there is clean and it's boring. Boring here, too, but not as much."

"You didn't look so bored before."

"Love to fight. But can only fight for a half hour every day at the pr'l'm'n'ries. Not a body wants to fight m'. Probably think too boring. Think _they're_ too boring."

"I'll fight you again, Sinkgi, wasn't it?" Vegeta kept an eye out for the tall curves and slopes of the training buildings. "You're pretty strong. What's your power level?"

"10,000." Sinkgi dragged his feet and glanced at Vegeta with eyes that were half closed, but he had regained a spark of engagement.

"Interesting. I think I get it." Talking to people instead of killing them was a fun challenge. "You're just a kid with nothing to do. With that power level, you should have done better in our match. You're too careless, you don't bother to think about the shape a battle takes, and I've never seen someone waste so much movement."

"Shut up!" Sinkgi rammed his armored shoulder against Vegeta. "All that stuff is _boring._ If wanna somersault, do. If wanna handstand and fight with m' feet, do. Think that's more fun than planning anything. And not wasting movement if it's fun."

"I like your style, but it just makes me want to find out how strong you _could_ be. I'll let you train with me, for now, but get stronger. You'll have a better chance at winning the tournament that way." Vegeta pushed open the doors of the training building, ignoring Sinkgi's questions about who he was. After getting healed, he introduced Sinkgi to Mata and they all took supper at the Dough-Gi.

After plenty of image-training the three were silent. Sinkgi was comatose, Vegeta was watching the evening crowd pass by, and Mata was contemplating the possibility of her, for the first time, making it to the finals. When she returned from the washroom, Vegeta knocked her one-ingredient soufflé to the ground. It exploded on impact and splattered halfway up the street.

" _Hey!_ That was my favorite unsweetened dessert! What the hell gives?"

"Shouldn't have told him about your egg thing. He just dumped about two cups of bone broth over it," Vegeta said calmly, not taking his eyes off Sinkgi. "Eating that would've taken more than five hundred points off your power level, wouldn't it?"

"Not gonna fight, still gotta have fun," Sinkgi said, depressed at being thwarted, his voice slowing and his face closing like the reverse time-lapse of a blooming flower.

Vegeta wasn't finished. He climbed over the table and sent Sinkgi smashing through the restaurant wall. Before he could follow to do something far worse, Mata caught him by the shoulder and held him back. He couldn't move forward no matter how hard he tried. She was doing _it_ again. Adrenaline spiked through Vegeta's veins as he turned, forgetting Sinkgi completely, but...

Mata was already covering her face and running out into the street. Vegeta wouldn't let her. Before a single person got in between them he was right on her tail.

"Forget that! That wasn't anything at all! See you tomorrow morning!" Mata yelled over her shoulder as she ducked under arms and Vegeta shoved people out of the way after her. He was five feet behind her. He could see her surprise that he was still keeping up.

"I'm not letting you get away this time!" he shouted, narrowing the gap to four feet by literally throwing someone behind him. She knew Sazz like the back of her hand but that wouldn't stop him... he thought, even as the crowd finally swallowed her. Vegeta swore and spun around, lost. The artificial sun had finished setting and the sky was black.

The towering white edifice hit him like a slap in the face, even from fifty feet away. Everyone on the street walked past it like it wasn't there. Despite this, dozens of lights made it glow in the darkness and its marble steps were clean. It was a proud building.

The Museum of War.

Vegeta walked inside in a trance. The lobby was lit dim and warm to match the time of day. He was welcomed by one of those energy creatures stationed at a desk. A Cheeing.

 _Try Bankon's next door if you're looking for souvenirs. This is a place for history, not novelty,_ the Cheeing projected into his mind, sounding defensive. Were visitors really so uncommon?

Vegeta looked around instead of responding. A set of glass doors ahead must be the entrance, but it was hard to tell just by looking into the darkness beyond. Through the doors, he found himself in a black corridor only lit by rows of tiny bulbs on either side of the path.

 _ **"War,"**_ said a narrator in Vegeta's ear. As he walked the voice moved with him, whisper-close. _**"The method used to answer the fundamental question that rings throughout the galaxy: Who Gets What?**_

 _ **"War dictates peace.**_

 _ **"War dictates prosperity.**_

 _ **"War dictates life.**_

 _ **"And war dictates death.**_

 _ **"The scope of war is vast, but the instruments of war are few and the instigators fewer still. Many shun war, many consider it a necessary evil, but almost none condone it. We have scoured the galaxy and found those who would start wars to end wars, those who say there is beauty to be found in combat, and those who have changed the face of the battlefield. We have curated the Museum of War."**_

Vegeta didn't realize he had left the corridor until, one by one, all around him in a cavernous room, signs and symbols flickered to life. Half of the doors led to stories of specific wars, while the other half covered the elements common in all wars and biographies of war heroes. One door was marked _Next Area._

He explored the rooms for two hours, with no regard to the time or where he was going to go next. He should have gone straight here the moment he landed. _Inciting Incidents. Armor and Weapons. Greatest Victories. Heroes. Techniques._ Those were the rooms Vegeta chose, as well as three retellings of wars he had never heard of. He wondered when they would make an exhibit for the rebellion.

(Vegeta didn't know at that very moment the Freeza Force was in the middle of hunting down every last being who knew the rebellion had taken place. No exhibit would be made.)

The rooms didn't seem dark anymore. Vegeta's thoughts were so distracting that he couldn't pay attention to anything but the knowledge in front of him. He hadn't studied martial arts in ten years, had learned through instinct this whole time, which was how he liked it. But reading about battles that weren't his, fought by aliens similar and different to him, made him realize how hungry he was.

When he finally had his fill, he went through the _Next Area_ door at a walk far brisker than before. It led to another dark room, much smaller, with only three entrances...

 _Mutants_

 _The Freeza Force_

 _Saiyans_

Vegeta's heart stopped. He was in the room before it started again.

In the center stood three statues caught running in midstep. Two were tall and one was short, all muscular, and all with wild black hair and fiery eyes. Their hands were either tight fists or reaching for something, their teeth were bared. They almost looked alive.

Vegeta was so transfixed he forgot to pay attention to the narrator.

 _ **"Are you there? Hello? Hello? Ahem. As I was saying..."**_ the disembodied voice continued on with a bit of a grumble. _**"Because of this ability, every Saiyan's tail holds great importance to them. You may have missed the explanation of the ability in question, but unfortunately that information will not be repeated."**_

"I know you were talking about the Saiyan transformation."

 _ **"Oh. Well, it must be news to you that the tail is kept wrapped around the waist in a defensive position when not in use."**_

That actually was something Vegeta didn't know. Defensive position? Why hadn't anyone ever told him? "Why didn't I think of it myself?" he muttered with a frown. He had been letting it drag behind him like an animal this whole time and now it was _gone._ It felt like it had been gone for years and Vegeta missed it sorely. He wanted to find out everything he hadn't known before about his race. Disappointment. He knew everything else in the room already. Yes, the Saiyans had the highest common power level, giving them the nickname "Warriors of the Universe." Yes, they were the only race fully employed by Freeza. Yes, they liked to fight. But the exhibit had little else.

Vegeta was taking a trip down memory lane and working through some traditional stretches and warmups they had illustrated diagrams on when he saw the sign. _For more information, please visit any of the library branches on Sazz. Our clerks will be happy to help those wishing for any in-depth coverage on all things Saiyan._

Vegeta was out of the museum in an instant.

There was a library a few buildings down, right next to Bankon's Souvenirs and Funny Fighties. As soon as he saw it he was inside, demanding all the books on the Saiyan race (he was presumptuous, there was only one). He barely responded when he was greeted by the polka-cheeked companion of the girl he resuscitated yesterday, Maj. He dashed back with his new book to his rooms, picked up his duffel bag and a few other things, and stayed unnoticed in the shadows while he took the moving sidewalk.

"Who was that brat?" the librarian said in shock. "Does he not know who you are?"

"I'll probably forgive him. He saved my sister's life after all," said the unnamed prince. He heaved a pile of books onto the checkout counter. "Just these, please... Maj won't fall asleep if I don't read her at least fifty match accounts each night, you know."

The librarian smiled sadly. "My deepest condolences, your Highness. We all hope Princess Maj is enjoying her stay and the support you two have given means the galaxy to all of us, especially now."

*⁂*⁂*

It didn't take long for Vegeta to set up his new room. A spare futon he had found in the closet of his old room was all he needed to make the switch. No one had followed him to the parking hemisphere, and he had the strange wall-to-wall panel room all to himself. He managed another three hours of training... he couldn't handle anything more, unfortunately, but it was the end of his first day in the gravity.

By the time Vegeta finally rolled onto his futon, less than five feet from where he had been training, his entire body was dead and he could barely move. In 15G, it was even hard to _breathe._ Reaching for the book, _Saiyan Blood_ , Vegeta wondered if he would die in his sleep. But the angry weight pressing in on him at every moment didn't feel _dangerous_ per se...

Vegeta only had to read a random page for ten seconds before getting a grin on his face that was so sappy it hurt. He fell asleep immediately, more happy and comforted than he could ever admit.

 _The Saiyan Planet, Vegeta, has a heavy gravity of_ _15G_ _. Generations growing up under such terrible conditions are part of the reason why all Saiyans have such legendary strength and endurance._


	28. Glass, Bubbles, the Green Spot

Chapter 28

Day 6 of 10

Vegeta was in a lot of pain. He had been ever since he woke up. Through his whole body... he couldn't crouch, couldn't lift his arms... But it was good, it was what he wanted, his muscles were just complaining because they weren't used to the gravity. _Planet Vegeta's gravity._

He gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the pain, going around the planet to get breakfast and pick up Mata and Sinkgi. They met his secret room with amazement and the three of them trained happily—well, Mata was focused and serious, but Sinkgi seemed lively enough and _Vegeta_ was happy—for an hour. That was all the others could handle. Ha. Vegeta was reaching his limit, too, but _he_ had spent the night.

"Let's take a break," Mata said, sides heaving as she propped herself up against the wall. "We can get food and walk around for a while. I wanna check out the competition."

"Nnh," Sinkgi grunted, his face closing and shoulders slumping.

Vegeta jumped up and hit him across the back of the head as hard as he could, slamming the beetle against the floor. "One point for me. No matter how many hours we spend sight-seeing, I bet you won't get me back. _I_ don't let my guard down."

"Oh, yeah?" Sinkgi, invested, tried to hit Vegeta five times on the way out of the parking hemisphere. When that didn't work he settled down to play the waiting game.

Vegeta liked Sazz more everyday. After he and Sinkgi got sandwiches and Mata had deconstructed devilled eggs folded in an omelette, the trio was out in the bright and crowded main plaza. They passed through blocks dedicated to specific regions of the galaxy. Vegeta, the polyglot of the group, translated the banners and displays. He recognized a lot of IGRIS-owned shops and saw the different fashion and merchandise of races that had always just been a name on a page for him. And the training building. Why hadn't he been thinking about all the other rooms it had? As they passed by room after room packed with martial artists working relentlessly, devotedly, Vegeta's excitement grew.

*⁂*⁂*

 _A fisherman leaned over the side of his boat. The telltale darkening of the water filled him with excitement and dread. Something big was coming up from the sea floor. It was huge. It was alive. And it wasn't one of God's creatures._

*⁂*⁂*

"Who's that one?" Vegeta asked Mata with urgency.

"Who?"

"Him." As tall as Nappa, still athletic but leaner. Skin a glassy pale gold and almost glowing, face calm and symmetrical and long black hair smoothly tied back in a ponytail. He held his weight very well... his feet were always planted and he didn't sway. And a moment earlier, he had moved _too fast for Vegeta to see._ "He looks strong."

 _"Loe Ott."_ Mata's eyes were glued to him. "He's the one to look out for. He'll make it to the finals."

"You think? Has he won before?" Vegeta asked without looking away.

"No, this is his first time. But I know."

Vegeta nodded. He could tell, too. What was this warmth in his chest? He loved it here. He wanted to fight Loe Ott... he _had_ to. If he didn't, he wouldn't be able to go home. Maybe he made a mistake in—

"Got you!" Sinkgi charged at Vegeta's back while he was still looking into the room, yes, unguarded. The entire wall shattered and Vegeta fell face-first into fifty people's matches and a floor covered in broken glass.

 _"Sinkgi...!"_ He knew everyone was staring at him... the room was silent. Vegeta's hand wrapped around Sinkgi's ankle, strong and unexpected enough to pull him over. Vegeta jumped to his feet while Sinkgi rolled through the glass. Sinkgi was fine with that blue shell of his, but blood dripped down Vegeta's front and light reflected off the shards of glass stuck in his cheek and his bare arms.

Vegeta kicked Sinkgi to his feet and they all ran off before anyone had the chance to window blame them. Sinkgi didn't apologize, so instead Vegeta ducked them into a different room and said they should have a few more matches themselves.

Bad idea. He lost, no other way to put it. The glass was annoying, but Vegeta just couldn't fight with his weak muscles. Mata made him go to the treatment center. The doctor spent almost the whole afternoon picking glass out of Vegeta's skin. He was really starting to miss healing tanks, even though this was the way things had been done for most of his life.

It was nearing the end of day six's official matches by the time he was finally released. Vegeta, heavily bandaged, rushed towards the preliminary building. Things played out almost the same as yesterday, except he shut the fights down before they had the chance to develop. He couldn't afford to hold back today. Everything he put himself through had scratched his power level down to 7,000 or so.

This batch was weaker than yesterday's. Even with Vegeta's handicap, the first hundred didn't put up a fight.

But then a weasel appeared. A weasel with a black quiff and features that were narrow and cruel. A weasel whose arms and legs had bubbles of red, gel-like liquid writhing under the skin... but only up to the elbows and knees.

Vegeta didn't notice him to be generous. He noticed him because he had to. The 33% bubbles alien was targeting his injuries.

The crowd started to complain when they saw what was going on. Vegeta's bandages had stayed clean and tightly-wrapped up until then, but now they were hanging off him in shreds, exposing dozens of thin cuts and scratches. And wasn't Bubble Arms scraping against them on purpose? Wounds that had already scabbed over had begun to bleed again.

"Dirty cheater!"

"You call yourself a martial artist? Fight fair!"

"Shut up." Vegeta ripped the rest of his bandages off and diverted another attack. Didn't the fools know it would be his own fault if he lost against such a strategy? He was still going to win, but he had been surprised by such ruthless play... it was as if he was fighting another member of the Force. Ha! He wasn't expecting such blood at this tournament.

But Vegeta hadn't yet realized the full extent of his opponent's technique. He was attacking from above, or trying to hold him down, and every time Vegeta had a little more trouble pushing him off. "Whoa, no way..." Vegeta whispered, pinned to the ground under his opponent and staring into black eyes. Had the man sensed his exhaustion? Was he forcing Vegeta to use the maximum amount of energy fighting him, until his spent muscles stopped responding?

"Hey, guess what?" the alien hissed. "This is an unofficial match, baby. No rules. You came into this with your shoelaces untied and I'm gonna rip you apart. Half of that sentence was a metaphor, superstar. Guess which half."

Vegeta grinned and gathered all his _chi._ With an explosive _kiai,_ a shout, his power burst forth. Trees swayed and rocks scattered. The audience stumbled back. And his opponent was thrown off of him. "Rip me apart?" Vegeta got up, laughing. His cuts had stopped bleeding. "Interesting! Okay, let's go—"

"I give up!" 33% Bubbles cried as he flung himself down in a deep bow. "Match over, match over, you win!"

 _"... Huh?"_ Vegeta might as well have been punched in the stomach. "B—but we were just getting started..."

"No, you're much too strong for me. I lost, good job, _please_ don't hurt me."

Vegeta frowned. From what he could tell his opponent was around 8,000, but with his own injuries the outcome of the match was far from clear. Quitting too early was a crippling flaw, and 8,000 wasn't really enough to keep up with him at his normal pace... Still, Vegeta had gotten a little better at fighting defensively over the course of the match. This alien was weak but had taught him something... "What's your name?"

"F—F—Fu."

"Fu? Fine." Vegeta turned to the others waiting for a turn. "All of you leave, I have what I came for." He was _not_ getting rid of them because of his injuries. He wasn't. "But you're coming with me, Fu."

"Yes."

"Vegeta! So that's where you went." Mata and Sinkgi had caught up to him. "What happened?"

"You guys, this is Fu," Vegeta said, shoving him forward. "He's joining us. He isn't very strong, but... you'll see. Don't underestimate him."

"Not strong? Not training with him," said Sinkgi.

"I want to crack that shell and watch your soft insides _ooze_ out," said Fu, going straight for Sinkgi's exposed eyes. Sinkgi fought him off, open-faced and obviously won over.

"Anyways, see you later," Vegeta said, starting to walk away.

"Wait." Mata caught up to him, pulling Sinkgi and Fu with her. "Where are you going? We can all get supper and then train together in the contestant district."

"No, I'm going back."

"Without eating? To your audience rooms to sleep off your injuries?" Mata shook her head. "I don't get you, Vegeta. I don't get why you didn't register as a contestant. Come on. No one will notice if you move into one of the empty rooms in our building, and we can train for six hours tonight. Just the four of us. It'll even be more of a fair fight. Get your stuff together."

"You think I'm going back to the _audience district?_ I moved out yesterday. Thanks for the offer, but from now on I'm sleeping in the parking hemisphere. Nowhere else will do."

 _"The parking hemisphere?"_ All three were shocked. "Why would you ever do that?" Mata cried.

"Sleeping in 15G... Your brain would get crushed and you'd wake up to blurry lights and muffled sounds, unable to think, in confused pain for the rest of your short life!" Fu said in a perky sort of way.

"Definitely wouldn't heal," said Sinkgi thoughtfully. "Can't get energy back without resting and _never_ resting in that place."

"Yeah. I might die in my sleep," Vegeta said, heart pounding. He was still sore from last night, and he had gone into _that_ at full health. But... he trusted his abilities. He was Saiyan, he had started life in this gravity.

"Okay, weirdo, do what you want," said Mata. "But you're really going away without eating supper first? Why don't we get something quick and then go our separate ways?"

"Well, _obviously,"_ said Vegeta.

Mata was a little sneaky. After they had filled their bellies at the Dough-Gi she brought up a place that was really close, _super_ close, like, basically next door, a place that each contestant traditionally paid their respects to at every tournament, and she hadn't gotten around to it this cycle and it would be _so_ fast and easy to just tag along and see it and they would all get _so much_ out of going, even Vegeta, the only _non-contestant._

Vegeta agreed quickly, not even to shut her up. The Tomb of 1,000,000 Artists had piqued his interest ever since he first heard the Cheeing broadcast.

It was a white granite slab about eight feet long resting on five huge platforms made of black and white bricks. Each brick had a few dozen names carved into its surface. There must have been thousands of them all carefully stacked to present the slab to the open air.

"They say 1,000,000 Artists but there's a few more by now," Mata said solemnly. "They've never added a name while I was here but I've heard about some that happened in the last decade."

"This is the death toll for the Galajū?" Vegeta asked, sniffing at something in the air intently. Mata, Fu, and even Sinkgi bowed their heads respectfully in silence. "One million, huh? That's really good."

"Good?" Mata gaped at him.

"Uh, I mean, _no death is best_ but one million's pretty low, isn't it?"

"What are you _talking_ about?"

"Anyway, what's kind of interesting is this white stone at the top. There's a ceremony they do, isn't there? When someone dies? They lay them on the slab and... well, what else do they do, Mata?"

Mata shook her head slowly, looking confused. "I don't know. I didn't even know there was a ceremony. Wait, how would you know?"

"I can smell it. Dead bodies have a pretty strong stench, and that white stone's covered in it. I've never smelled a million dead bodies all in the same spot, but I can tell."

"Do you know how many?" Fu asked intently. "Can you tell the exact number?"

Vegeta was silent for a few seconds. He tried to let the dry, musty air sink down to the bottoms of his lungs. "No... not really. Probably somewhere between 1,000,200 and 1,000,300."

"Still, that's pretty—"

"Young Vegeta, another trick! Is there anything you can't do?" said a familiar polka-cheeked prince, coming up beside them. "Marvellous! Not credible! As the girl said, it's a complete mystery you aren't registered to fight!"

"How long were you following us for?" Vegeta asked, frowning. The man, still exclaiming loudly, didn't hear him. His enthusiasm about Vegeta's sense of smell shifted to enthusiasm about Vegeta's ability to restart hearts, and then to how _useful_ that particular skill could be. Before they knew it, Vegeta and his group had been whisked across the street, through a colorful door in a colorful faҫade, up a narrow flight of stairs, and into a vast room that was sparkling clean and had a view that overlooked the entire bustling plaza. In the middle of the room stood two racks of medical equipment, a giant bed, and two solemn-faced Galajū attendants stationed on either side of the person in the bed. It was Maj the sick girl, of course.

"You may go," said the man with a nod to the attendants, who promptly bowed and slipped out of the room. He then turned to face Vegeta, clasping his hands behind his back. "Now, boy, I'm afraid I have a rather serious—"

"Who are you?" Vegeta interrupted. Mata squeaked and pulled him into a hallway with a shrill apology, Sinkgi and Fu on her heels.

"They're Prince Bisque and Princess Maj, the royal patrons of the Galajū! _They've been single-handedly funding the entire tournament for the past ten years!"_

"Oh, so that's who they were," Vegeta said, unimpressed. "You didn't have to take me out here to tell me that." He walked back in. Bisque was running a comb through his swooping hair which had gone a little frizzy at being interrupted. Maj was trying to sit up in bed.

 _"I wouldn't want to entrust such a rude little child with such important matters such as these."_ Vegeta looked around for the unfamiliar speaker, but there was no one else in the room. Only when Bisque took his sister's hand with a "There, there" did he realize that Maj had spoken for the first time. He took a few steps closer, curious. One of the tubes coming out of her mouth was shorter than the others and ended in a small plastic pair of lips. Maj's own lips wore a carefully-applied coat of blue lipstick and the false mouth matched.

 _"I'm dying,"_ the tube-mouth said in a plastic hiss, _"and the likes of him certainly won't be able to do anything about it."_

"If that was true you'd be dead already, dear Maj," said Bisque, not letting go of her hand. "You will recall the incident when we first arrived."

 _"Every one of our problems would be solved if only Daylee Chou would come back to us."_

"He's missing again, if you haven't figured it out by now," Bisque said to Vegeta.

Vegeta nodded. "How long?"

"An hour. That may not sound like much, but with our connections, being hidden from us for half that time would be a feat in and of itself. And with Maj's frail condition, even being gone for an hour..."

"He isn't a very good nurse."

 _"You're right, he's the best nurse! No one else has the ability to fully care for me. Bisque does what he can, but poor love can't handle anything more than basic maintenance. Every time I begin to tell him what's become of my insides he turns ill and has to leave the room."_

"Maj's life is in greater danger every minute Daylee is away. Tell me now, what is your medical background?"

Vegeta frowned at Bisque again. It was clear where this was going and he didn't like it. " _Gaki-yūki,_ " he said reluctantly. During the four days he had spent studying under that doctor he had passed the first level in medical science.

"That's all? Nothing I can't do," said Bisque. "Well then, we'll just keep you on emergency backup. You'll need to be ready at all hours in case her heart stops again." He held out a comm.

Vegeta looked at it with revulsion. There was no way he was taking it. Being a _nurse?_ Not what he had in mind when he set out for the galactic martial arts tournament, and not what he had in mind when he joined the Freeza Force. She had called him a child.

But then he saw the towering stack of match records on the bedside table, stuffed with annotated bookmarks. Maj crossed her arms under the tubes and stared him critically up and down, then closed her eyes and gave as much of a nod as the tubes would allow, as if he had already agreed to do it. Bisque was talking again. "... 100,000 Uni up front. If you have to save her again, another 100,000 will be yours. And if you are absent when she needs you, I'm afraid I'll have to withdraw funding to this tournament."

Vegeta accepted the money and the comm and very reluctantly promised to come running if it went off. Then he left.

Despite the others' outcry, he still went around the planet to the parking hemisphere. He'd probably try to be available in the future, but Maj would just have to die if anything happened that night. He wasn't spending another night out of 15G. And he was going to wake up the next day well-rested, healed, and alive.

 _Like most races, Saiyan infants are born significantly weaker than adults. Perhaps it is the resilience of their bodies, or perhaps it is an intense, instinctual will to live, but Planet Vegeta has never lost a single child to its crushing gravity. Even the low-class members of the species survive._

Day 7 of 10

Vegeta had slept deeply. Something had to pound on the door for thirty seconds before he woke up. Yawning, he went to answer it. It was probably the tournament-runners come to kick him out, but he was too groggy to care. His senses of danger and constant alertness had taken their own holiday on this safe planet.

"Good morning!" It was the group, bearing a massive tray loaded with breakfast. Vegeta blinked sleepily at them. Very nice.

Fu was slow coming into the room, not used to the gravity. "So you survived... the night..." he said with difficulty. "But a kid like me can't take it for long. Gotta bounce... see you bad apples later when it's time for us to beat each other senseless."

"You aren't going anywhere," said Vegeta, cheerful now that he was scarfing down the food with Mata and Sinkgi. None of them had eaten yet in the interest of getting to the parking hemisphere early. "You probably won't have a chance if you can't handle this gravity, and you _definitely_ won't have a chance if you keep quitting like that. Get back here. Why would you register if you didn't want to win?"

Fu immediately thought of his father, beating him almost to death daily because he wasn't strong enough to fight back. He wanted to be. He _needed_ to be. If he learned something here and went home... went home and got even with his father... he would finally get to call himself a man, and his father would accept him. They all would.

"I don't know what I was thinking." He joined them and took what little food was left. "These three are strong. They'll help me. And then, after the tournament, I'll honour them all with my new power by breaking each of their spines. Even if the other two scream and start to cry, I know Vegeta will understand."

"You think?" Vegeta said, licking syrup off a plate. Mata and Sinkgi were horrified.

"Oh, no, babies, I didn't—I wasn't—" Fu was also horrified, having forgotten that he often forgot to think instead of speak. "I mean _of course_ I—"

"Cut it out. And you two, what's there to be afraid of? He's just a little 8,000, and a quitter on top of that. Work hard and he'll never catch up to you." Tossing the plate aside, Vegeta got up and passed by Fu. "You work hard, too, if you're serious about what you said," he whispered. "Now we're all going to go until lunchtime. You're the only one who isn't used to this gravity. But if you try to leave I'll stop you, so figure out a way to survive the morning."

To everyone's surprise, not only was Vegeta no longer weak like yesterday, he even seemed to have gained some strength. No one could beat him. Not even Mata, who had been working herself nearly to death ever since he arrived to achieve that very goal. She had to use all her normal strength just to stay on par with Vegeta in the room... and she knew he was holding back... only fighting at "training" levels. Damn it. It was scary how comfortable he was under this debilitating gravity. Mata had already made it to the semi-finals that started tomorrow, but in her eyes she hadn't earned her place until she beat Vegeta.

Vegeta, for his part, was very pleased with his progress in adjusting to the gravity. He would have no trouble waiting until he got back to get fully healed... and then get a proper power boost. Heh heh heh... he'd get at least a hundred point increase. There was no way of measuring his power level on this planet, but he should be getting close to 11,000. And before the week was out, he would challenge that strong one personally. He didn't need to participate in the formal tournament to fight Loe Ott after all.

Sinkgi was having the time of his life. Four people training together was great, but he wanted more. Twice that! No, _five_ times that! Hundreds of people, fighting in an unrestrained battle royale! Just pure chaos as far as the eye could see. He had already sent in a job application to the tournament staff. He had a few suggestions he wanted to make to transform the Galajū from a tournament to paradise. Or he could just clean the floors. Anything to get away from his home planet.

Fu was getting used to the others' aggressive style of combat. Even if he tried to surrender, there was nowhere to run. The crippling, wheezing fear was slower to appear and faster to leave. And the red bubbles in his arms were finally past elbow-level. _Wait for me, Father. I won't be a failure anymore. I deserve to live._

With such a productive morning, the four young aliens could afford to take a few hours off. It was Mata's idea to find the edges of the city. Since Sazz was a planet whose only purpose was to host the Galajū, the cityscape ended sharply. One second they were walking around the corner of Lao's Oddities and Satellite Repair, and the next they were practically hit in the face with a wall of deep green vegetation.

"A forest? This must be the green spot," said Mata.

"Looks more like a jungle. Too wet. Hot already," said Sinkgi.

"Does anyone else smell—"

"Yeah." Vegeta cut Fu off. "And I've also smelled it in half the restaurants we've been to. This is where they grow the food for the whole planet. It's just herbs and spices. Let's go."

"Back?"

"No, _in."_

Sinkgi was right, it was wet. Every leaf was dripping with condensation, every stem slick with moisture. The plants grew so thickly above them that they blotted out the light and tendrils of foliage seemed to squirm out of their way as they travelled deeper. The air was so humid that it was hard to breathe. All in all, this jungle existed for function rather than form, and hiking through it was like drifting alone the bottom of the ocean.

Once in a while, a clearing would appear where animals were being raised. But Vegeta was only interested in going deeper... the jungle had a hypnotizing effect where it seemed to get dimmer and dimmer as they continued on.

The light must really have been fading, because the trees that were marked with streaks of glowing blue stood out from a mile away.

"What's this?" Mata wondered aloud.

"Tree."

"Thanks, Sinkgi. But really, what is this? It looks like light or some kind of energy, but it's _smeared._ Like someone shot a _chi_ blast that... shedded... somehow."

"Or someone made of this blue stuff got dragged through the forest," said Fu.

—FOREST !た! THERE WAS—!すけ!—THAT HOST—... RELEASE... —LIMITED !て! TOMB... !くれ! ... WHAT ON SAZZ WENT WRONG—

All four of them flinched.

"Did you all just—"

"What? _What_ — _"_

"Who said—"

"Fu, do you smell _that?"_ Vegeta asked.

"H... he... huh?" Fu squeaked, only saying anything because Mata was keeping him from running away. "S—smell what, Vegeta?"

"Never mind. Just some more... herbs." Vegeta searched the blackness around them, troubled. He should have noticed earlier... but he wasn't expecting such strong traces of fear at the Galajū. He wanted to find out what was wrong with these woods. If he ditched the others he might be able to...

... Or he might not. If they wanted to get back in time for the end of the preliminaries, they had to leave now.

The group was more than happy to head back, but Vegeta had to take a longing glance at those blue-marked trees. That had been the only flash of danger he had felt since his arrival. He had always thought that fighting was all that mattered to him, but now he was second-guessing himself. Even at the center of all the fighting in the galaxy, he was glad he didn't have to stay longer than ten days.

There was no need to second guess the choice to abandon the jungle mystery. Vegeta's final recruitment session behind the preliminary building was the most eventful one of them all.

It started with Han'na Michee.


	29. Martial Artists Only

Chapter 29

"Hang your head in defeat and join the hundreds of others who have fallen before me! For this tournament may host many a fine warrior, but I, Han'na Michee, am the one true martial _artist!"_ Michee's golden eyes began to glow and a mass of shimmering, multicolored _chi_ rose up from behind her. "Oh! beautiful spirits of courage and life! I open myself to you so that I may...

"... Be gifted the music of a birdsong at sunrise!" The _chi_ shifted to blazing reds and warm oranges.

"... Keep to the path of my destiny as brightly and closely as the tail of a comet streaking across the night sky!" The _chi_ jumped away from Michee in white and blue sparks.

"... Channel the burning passion of the great sun that is my homeland!" Now purple, the _chi_ swelled into a massive ball of energy and Vegeta braced himself. But no attack came.

"... Weave the very _atoms_ of the universe through my own, so that we may move together through the choreography that leads me to take this trifling contest by—oof!" The _chi_ dissolved as Michee crumpled to the ground, curled up and gasping for air. Vegeta had not seen an end to the show, but _had_ seen a guard that was completely down and had gone in for the kill. He was about to look for the next challenger when—

"You... dare...?" Michee growled as she rose to her feet. "By knocking me down you _defaced_ my art and therefore my soul. Now I cannot let you go unharmed."

"You got up?" Vegeta eyed her warily. He had put his full strength into that punch. She should at least be unconscious.

"Now, now, _now then..."_ Michee's flowing pastel sleeves and feathery white hair blew around her as she wound up to attack. "It seems you want to see for yourself the _horror_ and _beauty_ possessed by one who dances with the stars and planets, for example—OW!" Vegeta attacked her again. She had somehow left her guard down a second time. But again, she got up.

"Philistine! Ingrate! Office drone! How were you allowed to set foot on this planet?! I'll teach you myself why one _must_ appreciate the— _ugh!"_

"Never have I encountered such— _ack!"_

"Without art, life would be an empty— _argh!"_

"You don't understand, I have devoted my— _cease and desist, pond scum!"_

"What are you?" Vegeta breathed. Michee was taking damage, but his attacks were mostly just irritating her. He would be impressed if he wasn't so irritated himself. It wasn't possible to sense _chi,_ but he knew there was no power behind her show. It just looked flashy. So why was she able to withstand his attacks? "Stop the fireworks and hit me for real," he said.

"An ignorant child like you needs to learn the value of art."

"Are you saying there's no beauty in a single punch that has your whole strength behind it? I won't even dodge. Just show me."

"Really? That's beautiful to you?" Michee paused, looking at him curiously.

"Of course. You can't call yourself a _martial_ artist if all you do is throw your _chi_ around."

"Hmph! If you understand that art takes different forms, I may have been doing you a disservice. I'll oblige you, child." Michee drew back her fist and Vegeta raised his arms in front of his face.

Her strength matched her toughness. Vegeta was knocked ten feet backwards into the concrete. One of his arms felt bruised, like it had almost fractured, and his nose was bleeding. He was just about to get up and start the fight properly when he caught a glimpse of the next challenger waiting in line.

"You're in!" Vegeta announced, scrambling to his feet. "Find any contestant named Sinkgi, Mata, or Fu before supper and they'll get you training. Quit the exhibitionism and fight for real and get some speed. You're too strong to have such flaws. I'll find you later, now go." Vegeta kept the next challenger in sight as he shooed Michee away, and by the time they were facing each other his heart was beating out of his chest. _"Loe Ott."_ He wanted to savor this, this moment before the fight that would change his life, but... something felt off. Michee's punch had taken too much out of him. The look in Ott's eyes wasn't interested enough. He didn't want to do this in a back alleyway.

But it would take a lot more than that to make Vegeta push away a chance like this, and he was just breaking into a run when—

"No fighting outside of matches! Disqualified! Disqualified!" Someone tackled Vegeta from the side, knocking him over. He was back up and fuming in an instant, but Loe Ott was gone. Most of the crowd was dispersing... or being escorted away.

"Orchestrating crude backstreet brawls is illicit activity that will not be tolerated," said the tackler. He was wearing sunglasses and a long robe, deep red, marked with golden swirls and etches. That robe belonged to only one person: Teckanon, the CEO of the Galajū.

"Why have a training building if we can't fight outside of matches?" Vegeta asked coolly, managing not to crush Teckanon for interrupting his fight.

"The training rooms are closed to the public, built to withstand strong impacts, and guided by rules that only allow sparring. This kind of informal skirmish ring is prohibited at the Galajūichi Budōkai. You will no longer be allowed to compete."

Vegeta knew that if he told them he wasn't a contestant they'd just do something else. Jettison him off the planet or lock him up in a holding cell. "This is the _galactic martial arts tournament_ ," he said.

"That's besides the point."

Vegeta settled into a fighting stance and smirked. "What you just said was so idiotic that I didn't understand a word. I'm assuming you just challenged me to a fight. I'm up for it... let's go."

"Of course I'm not—"

"Grow a spine, Teck!" Now an older alien was on the scene, wearing a tinted moonocle and a sash that was the same style as Teckanon's robe. "I didn't give my job for you to be so tepid! Have you already forgotten how to play?"

"Quiet, dad—I mean _K_ _īmon_ _!"_ Teckanon tore off his sunglasses and shot twin beams at this father, who stepped aside effortlessly. "You're following me again?! I'll run this place how I want, it's mine now! Get back to the heritage center before I kick you off this planet!"

"I have a deal for you. I'll leave by the next cycle and never come back if you win against me and the kid. You always turn up your nose but I know you have it in you." Kī walked to Vegeta's side and put a hand on his shoulders. "What could an old man and an amateur do against the top brass of the Galactic Martial Arts Tournament?"

For an instant Vegeta saw something familiar in Teck's eyes but then he put his sunglasses back on. "All right... If I win against _both_ of you, pops is leaving for good and—"

 _"Hold on,_ if we're fighting two against one it's gotta be you two against me," Vegeta cut in. "I'm not—"

"No, my son has to be taught a lesson—"

 _"No,_ dad has to stop sticking—"

"Wrong—"

"Quit—"

"Stupid—"

"Listen—"

*⁂*⁂*

 _The CEO of a major record label broke out in a cold sweat. He must have misheard what the unfamiliar man who had just broken into his office had said. "C—come again?"_

 _"You get the final say on the work of hundreds of musicians every year, right? What are you bringing to the table?" The stranger's voice came harsh and muffled from behind his balaclava. "I brought the drum machine and some synths. You're well equipped yourself." He jerked his head at the wall of autographed instruments that the CEO had on display. "Write a song for me."_

 _"... Right now?" The CEO felt queasy. He adjusted his sunglasses and took a breath... then jumped for the panic button behind his desk._

 _In an instant the stranger had a gun to his head. "Right now."_

 _Forty-five minutes later, the stranger took off his headphones. "That was terrible." Simple and repetitive and no soul whatsoever. If the suits weren't worth anything, why the hell were they running the place? Both of them looked to the gun sitting in the stranger's lap._

 _The door burst open and an unfamiliar security guard marched in, grabbing the stranger by the arm. They were gone without even a word to the CEO. The CEO collapsed with exhaustion and terror and called his wife._

 _In the lobby the "security guard" ripped the stranger's mask off and gave him a rough shove towards the door, not bothering to take the gun away. "So that's where you went! I don't like being stood up. Do you want to get this album together or not?"_

 _"Sorry. Yes," mumbled the bassist, not older than twenty-five._

 _"It's time for our meeting. And this time, I'm escorting you to my office personally."_

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta and Kī walked in silence until they reached the outskirts of the city. A marble obelisk lay on the forest's edge, narrow but five stories tall. Vegeta followed Kī up the building until they were both seated in a comfortable office.

"You've been keeping a low profile, Prince Vegeta," Kī said, pouring them both a cup of black tea. "You know how easy it would be for you to turn this place upside down. Most people here would recognize you by your tail, but you carefully keep it hidden. Why?"

"That's not why I'm here," Vegeta said warily. "And it got cut off. How did you recognize me?"

"How could I not?" Kī gestured to his right and Vegeta's heart stopped as he looked right into cold black eyes. A man's portrait, larger-than-life, graced the study wall. His hair was jet-black and spiked upward like locks of flame. His hairline plunged and his hawkish eyebrows furrowed in a deep "V." A long red cape flowed out of his spotless armor. "You look exactly like him."

Vegeta took a sip of tea instead of reacting, his head throbbing painfully at being caught so off-guard. He had always remembered his father as angrier, bigger, more monstrous than even the other Saiyans. That man in the portrait wasn't him... at first glance Vegeta thought he was looking in a mirror. "I've never had tea this good before," he said, stalling but telling the truth all the same.

"That doesn't surprise me." Kī sat back with a nostalgic look on his face. "It was your father's favorite as well. He was the royal patron of this tournament for decades before Maj and Bisque, right until the tragedy of Planet Vegeta."

"My father was weak. Only 500," Vegeta said, avoiding the portrait's eyes. "I can imagine him coming here and living vicariously through the feats of others he couldn't accomplish himself."

"And how do you compare?"

"I'm going to break 20,000 and become second only to Freeza in a few more years. I'm already stronger than any Saiyan ever was. But Maj and Bisque... They're royal patrons? After my father?"

"Yes. They were only invited to succeed him because of their passion for the martial arts. They can be so temperamental. I've lost count of the number of times they've threatened to sink us because the humidity made Bisque's hair frizzy or Maj lost one of her socks. But then, they aren't the only people who would have had a hard time measuring up to the warrior race."

So threatening to withdraw funding to the Galajū was a regular thing with them. "Then they don't really like it here at all, do they?"

"Their race is flighty and they're spoiled on top of that, but the Galajū has had more than we could ever have asked for under them. Besides, they've started to mellow in their age and Maj falling ill has brought out shades of patience in Bisque I never knew he had. It would have to take something big to turn them against us now."

"Something like Maj dying on Sazz because her nurse went missing?" Vegeta asked innocently.

Kī looked like he had just smelled something unpleasant. "She's been stable so far, thank the void, but—well, I don't want to talk about _that._ I don't know how you resuscitated her... Maj's biology is too specific for anyone other than Daylee Chou... but no matter. All I'll say is this week, Maj _is_ the Galajū. If you love this tournament, keep her alive to the best of your ability. Talking of, _why_ haven't you registered as a—"

"Kīmon, sir! Generator House Green just had another power outage!" A tournament worker burst in through the door, knocking after.

"Again? Thank the technician whose idea it was to give the generator a generator. Safely pick apart every inch of the house and find out what the problem is. I like my tournament like I like myself: _not in pulp form._ Got that? I'm sure you feel the same."

"What generator?" Vegeta asked.

"Actually, you might find this interesting. Sazz was originally just a lump of rock. Its gravity was much too heavy for anything to live or grow on it, and due to its fixed orbital path the current parking hemisphere was the only section with any gravity at all."

"Sir..." the worker urged from the doorway.

"So when my great-grandfather discovered this planet he created a means of distributing the gravity more evenly by taking a few Gs away from the parking hemisphere and spreading them throughout the planet."

 _"Sir."_

"My ancestor's invention amounted to two gravity generators, one in the parking hemisphere and one in the green spot." Kī gestured out the window. "Without them, the spaceships on the one side would be pulverized under the weight, and the people on this side would be left behind in outer space. So it's troubling to all of us when even the room that houses one of the generators starts hiccuping. Which is why I have to cut this visit short—one of my remaining duties is supervising the generator when it's being worked on." Kī joined the impatient attendant. "Walk out with us. I have a feeling I don't have to tell you to keep quiet about this incident—"

"I only talk about things that matter to me."

"Exactly. It's nice to have a Saiyan around again. Other guests would feel scared for their lives."

"... I've been invincible these four days. Everyone just wants to _practice_ or _learn_ or _win in a controlled environment._ Things aren't like that where I come from, not for a second. I hope you find out what's wrong with the generators, but it's hard for me to be scared by something so familiar."

*⁂*⁂*

It was the night before the first rounds of the semi-finals. All four of Vegeta's group had passed the preliminaries, joining thirty-two other finalists who would fight in front of an audience over the next two days. To close the day, they had a solid four-hour training session in the room with Vegeta. They were all making good progress. Sinkgi's movements were twice as efficient, though he still bounced all over the place. Fu only gave up once every three fights and his arms were covered with bubbles almost to the shoulder, though no one knew why that mattered. Michee was the least experienced with the group by far, but she was also the strongest and the gravity wasn't an issue for her. Once she finally began to trade her light show for actual attacks, none of them could beat her. Not even Vegeta.

Mata hadn't shown another sign of any sort of hidden power, even with Vegeta constantly beating and taunting her. He would have given up already if he hadn't _known_ she was hiding it on purpose. Besides, she was such a strong fighter all-around that he trained better with her than any of the others.

It wasn't until they had all left, exhausted, to recharge for tomorrow that Vegeta knew sleeping was going to be a trick. He was looking forward to tomorrow so much. He had been purposefully ignoring the contestants on Sazz all week so he would see the tournament proper through fresh eyes.

He had to read for a little while before he settled down.

 _Their unique and overarching love of battle classifies the Saiyans as one of the more simple races. This inherited passion bestows members with a high chance of fulfillment and direction in life, but also a high level of competition and the uniquely Saiyan need to "just be the strongest."_

Day 8 of 10

A short man with huge red lips and a huge red mouth dashed onstage. _"Aliens and spacemen, you've come light years upon light years for this moment!"_ His eyes were screwed shut as he bellowed at the top of his lungs in a voice that was loud and crystal clear even over the cheers of the full stadium. _"Please make some noise for... DAY ONE OF THE SEMI-FINALS!"_

The noise was deafening. Vegeta could feel it vibrating around him, under him, and through him as he cheered along. Some people were literally falling out of their seats.

 _"As always, it falls to you to give our contestants a welcome heard throughout the galaxy!"_ the announcer continued in his impressive voice. He seemed to be lifting off the ground with the sheer force of it. _"We all know how important it is to warm up! To start, what's your name?"_

The jumbled roar of sound from the audience was incomprehensible.

 _"What did you eat for breakfast today?"_

"Chicken and Caesar salad!" Vegeta yelled along with fifty thousand other people.

 _"Give me one fact about yourself!"_

"This is the year I'll win the Galajū!" screamed Mata, like she always did.

"Favorite place in the universe! Please hire!" burst Sinkgi, along with his face.

"I'm scared of my father!" sobbed Fu, hoping no one was listening.

"I live on a _sun!_ I _live_ on a sun! I live _on_ a sun!" Michee chanted, beginning to glow and rise out of her seat. Her friends pulled her back down.

"I can turn into a giant monkey!" Vegeta shouted gleefully, holding onto one of Michee's legs and forgetting all about the past and present.

 _"And finally, repeat after me..._ _A box of biscuits!"  
_

 _ **"A BOX OF BISCUITS!"**_

 _"A box of mixed biscuits!"_

 _ **"A BOX OF MIXED BISCUITS!"**_

 _"And a biscuit mixer!"_

 _ **"AND A BIC-SIC MAKER!"**_ More than half the audience fell apart at the end, Vegeta included. It felt like that time Zarbon had kicked him in the stomach. He couldn't get a breath. His eyes were watering, he was laughing so hard.

*⁂*⁂*

 _ **Results for the official Galajūichi Budōkai morning semi-finals**_

 _ **SCARVE VS MUZZLE**_

 _ **Winner: SCARVE**_

 _ **Time: 35m**_

 _ **Category: Resignation**_

 _ **TRIAN VS DENT**_

 _ **Winner: TRIAN**_

 _ **Time: 49m**_

 _ **Category: Resignation**_

 _ **LOE OTT VS HAN'NA MICHEE**_

 _ **Winner: LOE OTT**_

 _ **Time: 3m 09s**_

 _ **Category: Knockout**_

*⁂*⁂*

By all counts she was disrupting the public, but nobody moved to complain. They were too entertained watching what was, to them, just another show.

"LORD VE-GE-TA. I ASKED YOU FOR DIRECTIONS TO THE ART GALLERY AND YOU SENT ME TO THE GALLOWS." Michee's voice was getting close to announcer-levels of ear-splitting noise. "WE BOTH KNOW USING MY TALENTS WOULD HAVE WON ME THAT MATCH."

Vegeta had his back to her, busy checking the time on an audience member's clock.

Michee twitched. It felt like she stubbed her spirit against the corner of a table. "How can one boy be so relaxed in the face of this, Lord Vegeta? Somehow, my art hasn't been getting through to you. You've said it's pointless, that brute force is the only way to go. I listened. And look where that has gotten me. I shall communicate my feelings and soul to you once more." Then she _screamed_.

Vegeta was prepared for Michee to snap. He was not prepared for her to shriek like a banshee while seven knotted tentacles sprang from her back, casting blood-red light on her robes and hair. _Chi dragons_ gnawed on the tournament building behind her and a murder of _chi crows_ blocked out the artificial sun. Vegeta's hair bristled and his muscles locked up, gluing him in place. Michee and her fabricated scene of hell glared at him. He didn't move, couldn't move.

Michee left the scene, her statement made. "That was pretty cool," Vegeta said to no one in particular, heart pounding. Had she just _intimidated him?_ He felt shaken, like he'd slipped on the edge of a cliff and nearly fell off. Wow. But even if he did finally see what she meant, that didn't change anything. He wouldn't be caught off guard like that again. And it was his turn to pay her back and show her what _he_ was about. He just felt a little faint of heart right now.

Michee had lunch with Mata, Sinkgi, and Fu. They were all too busy thinking about their afternoon matches to look out the window and see Vegeta walk by, pulling three carts of food.

The semi-finals building was equipped with two stadiums, allowing all sixteen matches to take place over the course of the day. The afternoon block of matches saw Sinkgi drop out of the competition. The contestants scheduled to fight that day were invited to supper with Bisque and Maj, as well as a few minor sponsors.

"Have you found your nurse?" Mata asked Prince Bisque, tactfully keeping her voice down.

"No, and poor love's holding on by a thread." Bisque's eyes hadn't left his pale sister the whole day. He poured her another glass of grape juice. "Tell Vegeta to stay ready. I'd hate to have to personally ruin this establishment that we both love so much."

 _"That would be a terrible thing,"_ Maj said faintly. _"But whatever my brother does in my honor is justified. Please pass the tapenade and brie."_

Mata and Fu both won their evening matches, advancing to round two along with fourteen others. By the end of the next day, day 9, the two finalists would be decided.

Vegeta rarely slept more than nine hours. That day, he trained for twelve. 1:00 PM to 1:00 AM. Something about keeping his growing exhaustion in check with food made him cold. But he was safe: this wasn't the subzero death of space, this was the gravity of his home.

As the hours passed, his power level dropped. _10,000. 8,000. 5,000. 1,000. 700._ He didn't know the numbers, but he felt every single point.

Vegeta was too busy training away his entire time in the Freeza Force to notice his Emergency Bisque Comm going off.


	30. Turning Heads

Chapter 30

Day 9 of 10

Vegeta had slept until noon, completely missing the morning matches. The light hurt his eyes. It was like his heart had slowed down during the night and hadn't realized it was needed. But its beats were solid and had a good vitality to them.

Shuffling down the plaza, he was still half asleep when he walked into something. It took him a second to notice who was blocking his path.

Prince Bisque pulled him up to eye-level by his collar. "Where... were... you?"

"Huh?" Vegeta yawned, his arms and legs dangling limply in the air. He felt something pulsing in his pocket. It was the Emergency Bisque Comm. _1 new call: yesterday, 11:17 PM._ "Oh, I guess I missed you. Can't be helped, I was busy."

Prince Bisque smiled at every passerby, but his clammy hands shook. "Last night was a false alarm. Just a foot cramp. But if anything had happened to her... I put my trust in you and where were you? Even if _you_ leave in one piece this tournament won't. I've made my decision. Tomorrow I will send the order to our accounts... this tournament will have to search for funds elsewhere."

That woke Vegeta up. "Stay there," he ordered, breaking Bisque's grip and jumping down. "Actually, no, get us something to eat for lunch. Wait for me in the Dough-Gi. Let's figure out how to solve the problems we already have instead of making new ones."

Prince Bisque didn't follow other people's orders, honestly, he didn't. But he had been anxious all morning and his blood sugar was low from skipping breakfast. And he let himself fall for the confidence in Vegeta's words, young though he was. He wanted Maj to live to see the finals.

Bisque had just settled down with a selection of every item off the lunch menu, feeling a thrill at dining among the gritty contestants coping with their losses, when something very large and very feathery smashed through the front window. It was that exhibitionist girl who had put on such a show outside the day before. But she wasn't summoning any dragons now... she was clutching her bleeding forehead and glaring at Vegeta, climbing through the broken window frame.

Vegeta, noticeably more lively than he had been an hour ago, tried not to bounce on the balls of his feet as he and Michee circled each other.

"What in the name of the stars and the planets was that, Lord Vegeta?" Michee growled, pushing up the sleeves of her robe.

"That one hurt, didn't it? Are you surprised? Didn't think I had it in me? Pull that light show again and I'll _thrash_ you. It's not my fault you lost. You weren't strong enough, that's all."

There was a tense moment where the two stood, unblinking. Then...

"I won, and so did babes!" announced Fu. Mata and Sinkgi followed him in through the window.

"Very hungry. The menu, what's on today? Too hungry to be bored. Even though lost yesterday. Dammit dammit dammit..."

"I'll have five eggs. Soft boiled, hard boiled, poached, hash, and virgin frittata."

Prince Bisque had to wait _half a blasted hour_ while Vegeta and his friends ordered lunch (ignoring the food he had already set out), talked about matches (that he had already been over enough times to recite backwards), laughed and shouted and rough-housed, and overall took the Dough-Gi's noontime noise and mayhem from a six to an eight.

Bisque had barely looked away to receive his hourly confirmation that Maj was still stable, but when he turned back everyone had finished and was heading out the door.

"H—hold on! Vegeta!" He jumped up to chase that little thorn in his side. "You kept me waiting for what? Nothing? Were you saying goodbye to your little gang of thugs before I have you killed?"

"Didn't I tell you?" Vegeta turned around, his black eyes finding Bisque's fearlessly. "I'm the one who's going to find your nurse, and I'll do it before tomorrow night. Your sister probably has a better chance with me looking for him than being 'on call' for her."

"You haven't been useful to me for one second since—"

"Shut up. Don't say that. The only person I'm useful to is—nobody. It's nobody." Vegeta blocked the doorway and leaned in. "As if I'm a _doctor._ The only person I've ever saved other than Maj is Freeza. Heard of him? But I've _killed_ people. Lots of them. Billions. And hunting them down is the first step to killing them. So calm down and leave this up to me. If all you can do is take revenge, wait until she's dead at least." And then suddenly, the door frame was empty. Prince Bisque stamped his foot helplessly a few times until he felt a little better. Then he went off to Maj's bedside again.

*⁂*⁂*

"Us? Fu and I have to be back in two hours to fight in round three." Mata cracked her knuckles and eyed Fu.

"And if we both win, whoa mama, we'll be fighting against each other to make it to the finals. That match is after supper."

"And we all know who's going to become the other finalist," Vegeta said.

 _"Loe Ott."_

"Before you go, help me look for that nurse. It's for a cause bigger than those two figureheads."

All four of them agreed to spend the afternoon hunting for Daylee Chou. But where to begin? They were silent in the crowds for a minute, then—

"Remember when we went to the green spot the other day?" said Mata.

"No," said Michee.

"And the trees were smeared with that blue energy," said Fu.

"Eh?" said Michee.

"And the voice all heard... saying _release_ 'n' _tomb_ an' things," said Sinkgi.

"What in the name of the stars—"

"And the air smelled like fear," said Vegeta.

 _"What?"_ said Mata, Sinkgi, and Fu.

"Yeah, I remember that place. That place was weird." Everyone nodded in agreement. Then they turned on their heels and set off.

*⁂*⁂*

"You! What are you doing out here?" Teckanon demanded, running out of the marble obelisk to intercept them at the forest's edge.

"What's it to you?" Vegeta asked coolly, noticing Teck's black eye with a small smile.

"Honestly, first Daylee Chou and now this..." Teck was wringing his hands in distress.

Kī poked his head out the entrance, yelled at Teck, "Tell him, he might be able to help!" then disappeared back inside.

"The Cheeings are gone!" Teck burst out. "Almost all of them. Hundreds by now. But it isn't _possible._ Our sensors aren't picking up any energy prints at all, which could only happen if they had left the planet, which their contract _explicitly forbids_."

"So?"

" _So?_ Child, they aren't flesh creatures like you or I! That contract dictates the very laws governing their existence! Besides, they've been the perfect workers until now."

"I don't know about the Cheeings—I'd say someone was killing them, but how can you kill energy?—but I think Daylee's in the green spot," said Vegeta. Teck peered over Vegeta's shoulder at the dark jungle. "It's the easiest place to get lost. Doesn't it take up 40% of the planet's surface?"

"Yes... It's lightly staffed as well," Teck said thoughtfully. "But what about the Cheeings?"

"Doesn't matter to me. I just want to keep the two cookies happy. Get some search parties together, in the meantime we'll put in the first shift."

An afternoon of fruitless searching. Vegeta barely remembered Daylee's scent, and there were so many fragrant plants on top of that. The dark, sultry forest was making him drowsy. He'd been pushing himself too much lately. There wasn't enough danger around to keep him sharp.

6:30 pm. Dinner was just wrapping up. Mata and Fu left early to prepare for their evening semi-final match.

"Why are you leaving as well?" Michee caught Vegeta at the door. "Don't tell me you plan to miss our dear friends' decisive battle to comb those woods yet again."

"I'm not," Vegeta said. "I'm going back to the parking hemisphere. Gotta get to bed early tonight."

"Lord Vegeta, I had not pegged you to be so lazy—"

"I have better things to do tomorrow, that's all. Can't waste anymore time today looking for nurses or watching fights. Oi." He beckoned Sinkgi over. "Tomorrow afternoon. Before the finals. There's that free block isn't there?"

"Any can request fight with any contestant. Remembered."

"I'm going to take him. Loe Ott. We've pointed Teck's people towards the forest, that should be enough for them now. I need this."

Michee and Sinkgi looked at each other. They'd rather see Vegeta fight Loe Ott in the finals instead of Mata or Fu.

In the parking hemisphere, Vegeta didn't even read a passage from the book before he was out cold. On a normal day, he would have sensed it. He'd changed so much... only seven nights on this planet, and he'd slept like a baby through each one. The heavy footsteps in the parking lot outside the room didn't wake Vegeta up. He didn't even stir in his sleep when something very big opened his door, took a ten-second stare inside, and then slunk away.

Day 10 of 10

Vegeta just wanted to fight Loe Ott. Something was happening to this planet and he had to fight Ott before anything nasty revealed itself. "Are. You. Joking." The corners of the information table broke off in his hands.

"Read the fine print next time," the registrar said calmly, getting out a can of adhesive. "Only approved challengers can request a fight with either finalist. Loe Ott has stated that he does not wish to participate in the free block." He shooed Vegeta away so he could fix the table.

There was that suffocating feeling again. Didn't Ott know Vegeta was trying to get a fight with him?

"Having trouble?" Bisque said to Vegeta. "All it takes is a word from me and any two people on this planet _have_ to fight. I'd be willing to consider a request..."—Vegeta lit up—"... if I get my nurse back. _Find my nurse already, she's dying."_

"Fine, fine," Vegeta muttered, pacing away. Why did he feel so panicky? Everything seemed off. He just needed to get a fight in. Loe Ott was the only one he wanted anymore, he was _sick_ of the people he picked. If he had to jump through hoops for some irrelevant prince, so be it. He needed to get back on track.

The universe must have heard him. He was turned away at the tournament city's edge. Overnight, they had installed a grid of bi-pedal movement detectors and they didn't want anyone interfering and triggering the sensors. No one was searching the forest now, but surely high technology could be relied upon to do what hundreds of men could not. Flying over the forest, Vegeta could already feel the dozens of sensors below waiting to record his movement. It would be fine as long as he didn't set foot on the ground.

The sounds of the outdoors cut off as soon as he dropped below tree level. There was that smell again... fresh, no, stale, days old, but strong enough to have lasted. And there was another trace of that smeared _chi._ Visible on the forest floor from the air. Vegeta came to a gentle hover on his stomach above it.

"Trace" was the wrong word. It was in a little glowing blue pile. It slipped through Vegeta's fingers like jelly. Pine needles were stuck to the bottom.

There was no voice screaming disjointed words in his head this time. It looked congealed. Vegeta pulled a slimy blue eyeball out of the mass. He shut his own eyes. _Daylee Chou... Daylee Chou... green hair, pale. Looked like all the color in him went to his hair, even his eyes were white._

Vegeta tossed it back into the pile and returned to the stadium.

Even entering in through the small forest-facing exit, the stadium's halls were empty. Was everybody already inside? No, there were only a few faints cheers coming from behind the door to the arena. Damn. Was there only going to be a dozen people in a stadium that seated thousands? Was everyone saving their energy for the big match after supper? Vegeta almost turned around but stopped himself at the last second. If it was empty, he wanted to stand on the stage. Maybe he could get the group together and they could spar for a bit, give the few spectators something to watch at least.

Vegeta didn't go through the big double doors leading to the stage, he picked just another audience door at the top of the stands. Still, it took all of five seconds for every face in the arena to notice and turn towards him.

The free block had started some time ago, but it was only now that the crowd began to cheer. And why not? Up until now, the mysterious fighter nearly every contestant and audience member had turned up to watch had been missing. All the fights in the meantime had been underwhelming. Every pair of fighters knew they were being set against standards meant for him, and also knew that they would be kicked off the stage the moment he showed up.

Vegeta walked down the aisle in a daze, blinded by the spotlights and deafened by the screaming of thousands of bloodthirsty aliens. Ten steps from the stage, he caught a glance of the electronic scoreboard floating above the audience. _**Vegeta. Vegeta. Vegeta. Vegeta.**_ His name was in every match. An unexpected result of those few recruitment sessions? Or had they found out who he was and where he came from?

He had a feeling he would be fighting a lot of rematches today. Vegeta's hair stood on end as he finally picked up on the tone of the screaming crowd. He suddenly felt exposed, smack in the middle of the stage with thousands looming over him. He turned around, trying to see everybody in the arena. Why did he feel so nervous? He had been alone and hunted on a planet before. Was it finally time to go back to his "mission" headspace?

He'd start with the first person who got up from their seat. His eyesight was good. As long as he kept moving, kept tabs on the crowd from all sides, he wouldn't miss his chance. And—there! In his peripheral vision, Vegeta saw four people rise. It was his group, cheering and waving at him. He took a step forward, faltered.

"Lord Vegeta!"

"Get it, babes!"

"You!"

"This is your chance!" Mata screamed, barely loud enough for Vegeta to hear. "You finally get to compete!"

"But I've already fought everyone!" Vegeta yelled back.

"You got here late and took two days before you fought anyone besides me! You missed half of the preliminaries! I think you still don't know the Galajū!"

Someone was running down the flight of stairs, giving every row a high five on his way. Vegeta's head finally cleared. The game was to fight whoever stepped onto the stage with him.

*⁂*⁂*

A little while before the outcome of the last match had been decided, the audience had already fallen in love with Vegeta. Every single one of them had sent at least two dirty looks Mata's way. She had earned her place in the finals that night, but no one _cared_ about her number. They didn't want her to be the one to fight Loe Ott.

"Alright then, you bastards," Mata muttered, getting up from her seat. She'd give the audience what they wanted. And she owed it to Vegeta; she couldn't keep pushing him away forever.

One press of Mata's prestigious finalists' button and the next match was overridden. Mata was booed onto the stage.

"What's going on?" Vegeta asked, out of breath and bouncing between stretches.

"They want to know who's stronger. They think you'd fight better against Loe Ott than I would."

"They're right. If you want to ruin your own match tonight, be my guest. They won't like you any more after seeing you lose to me." Vegeta swayed back and forth in his one-armed handstand.

 _"Dyah."_

Vegeta's back slammed into the wall twenty feet past the end of the stage. It felt like his chest had caved in. He couldn't breathe. For a moment the entire stadium was silent except for the shallow, panicked breaths of one young Saiyan.

"Tournament rules? You're out of bounds," said Mata, and the stadium exploded. Vegeta was barely aware of the hundreds of people rushing past him to get all their shopping and sightseeing done so they could have the whole of dinner to hype up for the finals.

"Where... where did you get so much power?" asked Vegeta after he'd recovered a little.

"All the excess vitamin B gets stored in my cells as emergency energy. I can tap into it if I need to, but it runs out quickly and comes back slowly. I only use it once a year at this tournament. And I'll be using it on Loe Ott. If we had kept fighting, who do you think would have won?" Mata had a smug look on her face that made her look twenty years older.

"See how he already returns to normal? Lord Vegeta! I believe most of your defeat was due to being relieved of your guard and I also believe a fight from the two of you would be quite the spectacle!"

"Both do it now," Sinkgi grinned with his face wide open. "Couldn't see that punch but could feel it from so far away."

"What do you say?" Mata gestured to the stage. "Want to continue?"

"You got enough freakish egg energy to spare for me?"

"Don't worry. I can beat you and have more than enough for tonight."

"No thanks," Vegeta growled. "I'm going to get something to eat."

"Hey, come on! Aren't you a Saiyan? You lost! Why don't you want a rematch?"

"'I lost'?" Vegeta turned around. "You mean when I took that _one_ elbow? Elbow," he added pointedly to Sinkgi, "and not punch."

"I knocked you out of bounds. That means you lose, Vegeta."

Vegeta laughed softly, beginning to make his way out. "This is why I didn't register. In the real world, you only lose if you surrender, run away, or die. And there is no out of bounds... except for the vacuum of space."

"Whatever, whatever, the point is, you gotta know how much stronger than you I am. You've wanted to know since the beginning." Mata went to grab Vegeta's shoulder but he stepped to the side.

"I don't think you're stronger than me," he said calmly, looking up at her. "Going from your speed and the power behind that blow earlier, I'd say we're just about equals now."

"So doesn't that mean you want to—"

"I don't want to fight you. Save yourself for Loe Ott. Me, I'm going to have a chat with Bisque over dinner. If you win the match tonight, I'll fight you. For real, both of us at full power. If Ott wins, I'll fight _him._ It doesn't matter how little he thinks of me, he'll see once we've fought. And Bisque will make sure walking away isn't an option! Ha ha ha!" Vegeta walked away.

"Being such a masochist is easy in a place like this, but it can't be healthy," Mata said sadly. "He's just finding the surest way to lose, isn't he?"

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta had to get through five dining halls to reach the private room where the sponsors and tournament-runners held their last meal before the finals. Red velvet hung from the ceiling in drapes and candlelight twinkled off the dozens of wine glasses being sipped and clinked together in the dim room. The handful of burning joss sticks as a centerpiece was bad enough, but the smoke of every kind of tobacco across the galaxy mixing into one thick cloud above the diners made Vegeta nauseous.

"You really think you can handle all this smoke?" Vegeta asked Princess Maj, sitting down next to her and Prince Bisque.

Maj took a few puffs from the kiseru pipe on her synthetic mouth. _"This? Kizami? This is the good stuff. Cleaner than water. My doctor back home practically prescribed it to me. Besides, I lay in that bed all week so I could enjoy myself tonight. You're relieved of your duty, temporary nurse."_

"Good. Forcing me to be on call for you two was a waste of my time." Vegeta ignored the dirty looks he was getting for piling food onto his plate after walking in without an invitation. "Anyways, Bisque, how about doing me a favor for my service? I need—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Prince Bisque angrily buttered a crumpet. "The deal was I get you whatever you want after you find Daylee. Look around, I still don't see him."

"No luck with the movement detectors?"

"Nothing. And now Mr. Teckanon was telling us about that dreadful new theory of his." Maj and Bisque shook their heads in tandem like a pair of flamingos. "Honestly, why bother hiring those chi-beings if they can kidnap our nurse just as well as any material alien?"

"If I may interrupt, Honorable Prince Bisque?" Teck simpered across the table. "Our Cheeings are incapable of leaving the planet. It's part of their contract; they would dissipate the second they pass out of the atmosphere. Unless Daylee Chou stowed away in one of the ships on his own, he must still be on Sazz."

 _"He wouldn't have left on his own,"_ Maj said. _"Even if he betrayed me,_ _ **which he did not,**_ _his condition makes it impossible to fly without help."_

"His condition? Does he carry around a pocket-sized nurse for himself?" Vegeta smirked.

"It's hard to explain," Bisque said with a sigh, drawing his arm around Maj. "Daylee Chou has been diagnosed with _chrisivarytiphobia._ "

"... Can you give me an example of what the hell that means?" Vegeta asked, after ten seconds of expectant silence.

"Well, flying for one. If we don't bring along a sensory deprivation chamber for him to escape into, he has a panic attack and refuses to board the ship." Prince Bisque smiled sadly at the memory of the many times Daylee's face would turn red, or he would start to stutter, trying to deal with his fears in order to stay with Maj. "We used to think he was afraid of flying."

 _"But then, something new came to light,"_ Maj piped up. _"With the TV?"_

"Of course. We were watching the news one night. There was a program about one of those monks who could lie on a bed of nails without piercing his skin. My, my, my, Daylee _transformed._ He looked _bigger,_ somehow. His face was twisted in a rage. He attacked the TV, screaming about how 'That's not how it works' and 'Shouldn't be possible.' He wasn't himself." Bisque brushed a crumb from the corner of his mouth. "We had to institutionalize him for a week. Then they attached the word 'chrisivarytiphobia'. Fear of the exploitation of gravity. It's a strange one, not very practical, but I suppose it makes sense if you trace it back far enough. Spaceships are machines that lift flightless animals and tons of metal into the air. Pushing one's weight onto a nail often breaks one's skin. You could consider both of those scenarios 'unnatural.' Daylee's just more sensitive to the natural order of gravity... like you, with your nose."

"Yeah..." Something was hanging on the wall crooked in Vegeta's mind. "Sensitive as in flying into a rage and having to be locked up?"

 _"That was different,"_ Maj said defensively. _"That only happened last week."_

 _"Last week?!"_ Vegeta gaped at them. "You said he was _institutionalized_ for a week! Did you fly him straight here from the hospital? And now he's _missing_. How have neither of you thought that incident with the TV might be important?"

"He's been fine up until now!" Bisque cried. "Besides, there's nothing here that could trigger him! Bodies punching other bodies is perfectly safe!"

"Oh, really?" Vegeta's smile was twitchy and unhinged. "Teckanon, please tell them about those _worrying_ technical difficulties you had the other day. Something about a power outage in the green spot?"

"Vegeta!" Teck hissed, then beamed at Maj and Bisque "Oh, really, it wasn't anything to worry about. Just a small hiccup with the gravity generator. The housing! The housing around the generator, _not_ the generator itself."

 _"Gravity generator?"_ Maj said, cluing in to the same keyword Vegeta had. _"What does it do?"_

"The force on this planet used to be... let's say, 'one-sided.' We made a machine that simply redistributes the gravity so our lovely tournament can take place every week," Teck said with another beaming smile.

 _"How much gravity? Gets redistributed, I mean."_

"A few planets' worth."

"What did Daylee Chou do to the TV when he saw that monk, again?" Vegeta asked Bisque.

"He smashed it to pieces. It was like he was trying to erase it out of existence."

"You know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think an entire planet is a lot worse than a guy and some nails. We're all in danger now. Teck, tell me where you keep that generator. And radio all your workers in the area, we don't know—" Vegeta, trying to jump out of his chair, sprang up and hit his head on the chandelier.

In an instant, the gravity on that side of Sazz had dropped from 5G to 1G.


	31. Blackout

Chapter 31

"What the hell were you thinking?!"

"We weren't thinking anything! Ow ow ow! Let us go! Help! Help, we're being taken hostage!" Prince Bisque was trying to grab onto the door frames, Princess Maj was wheezing heavily, as Vegeta dragged them and Teckanon down the hallway of the contestants' lounge. "Was it you all along who—"

"Shut up and give me more!" Vegeta barked at him. "The time with the TV. Did his personality change or did he lose his reason entirely?"

"I—It was like a mental break! He went crazy... didn't even seem to recognize us! And he wasn't satisfied with the TV. He even knocked down the wall behind it! Honestly—"

 _"Tell me these thing sooner._ What was the wall made of?"

"Bangite. Far too expensive to be destroyed by an employee that you also pay for—"

"'Bangite'?!" Vegeta swore. "That's important. If he's in that same animal rage right now, we don't know how strong he is. Teck. When's the next full moon on this planet?"

"Uh—"

 _No moon._ "Dammit." _No tail, either._ "DAMMIT!"

"For pulsar's sake, man, let Maj go before—b—before—" Bisque's voice broke as he weakly tried to pry Vegeta's hand off, tears running down his polka-dot cheeks.

"Did anything else happen with the TV?" Vegeta said, turning to look Bisque right in the eyes as they plowed through a wall. Going as the crow flies might give them enough time.

"No... nothing else..." Bisque sobbed, Maj unconscious in his arms. "Now let me and my sister go... and bring us our nurse back... and keep Sazz from losing its gravity... please..."

"You're useless now if nothing else happened." Vegeta dumped the two royals onto a sofa that was passing by. "Wait here until I get back or you'll get in someone's way."

"I'm not a bruiser like you!" Bisque screamed after Vegeta. "I come from royal blood! I'm used to living reasonably!"

"I'm a prince too and you don't see _me_ crying about problems other people have to solve!" Vegeta shot back just as he rounded the corner with Teckanon still in tow.

"... A prince?"

*⁂*⁂*

"Sinkgi! Fu! Michee! Where's Mata?" Vegeta was lucky his group always ate together at the same place.

"Getting ready for the finals," said Fu. He had to fight against the crowd of people leaving the Dough-Gi to go to the large stadium. "Everyone thinks the gravity's being lowered in preparation... but we don't think so, right?" Sinkgi and Michee nodded. Sinkgi's face was already open. Michee began to float off the ground and glow. "Do you know what's going on?"

"Daylee Chou's gone rogue. The details don't matter. All we need to do is stop him from reaching the second gravity generator. Oh, but don't kill him." They looked at Vegeta in surprise, not needing to be told not to kill. "Teck, where's the other gravity generator?"

"I already told you, it's—"

"Where's Mata again?" Vegeta snapped, pacing. There were so many things flying around in his head, and the need to move was growing bigger by the second.

"Getting ready to fight _Loe Ott,"_ said Fu. "Let's go over to the large stadium right now and take her back!"

"No, we don't need her help and there isn't time anyways. Teckanon! C'mon! Hurry, hurry! Tell us where the other—"

"Again, it's in the parking hemisphere! Garage F, room 216—"

 _"Aaaah!_ I know where that is!" Vegeta exploded. "Get out there, you three! If we don't stop the nurse, everyone on this planet is dead!"

Perhaps if it was up to them, Sinkgi, Fu, and Michee would have slipped through the streets. Pushed someone aside here and there, maybe a "coming through!" if it got too crowded. But with Vegeta at the helm, all they could do was follow in his wake and jump over the dozens of passersby who had been knocked over. Everyone was so much faster in this light gravity. They made it to the moving sidewalk entrance in half the time.

Vegeta's phantom tail bristled and his nostrils flared. "Daylee Chou. He was here a few minutes ago." He scrambled over the orientation building and squinted against the setting sun. "He took the surface route." He started to climb down the other side when Michee yanked him back up.

"No. It's dangerous with the spaceships landing and the ground is too spongy to walk on."

"Go here," Sinkgi said, kicking in a small metal door marked "Staff only." It was an empty tunnel, much wider than the moving sidewalk, used to drive cargo vehicles across the planet. The four of them took off running down the iron passageway.

"Even the annelid, writhing in a puddle during the soft rains of spring, has some awareness of why it must get above ground. Lord Vegeta, now that we have begun to hone in on that fateful locale that you say the nurse will seek as well, please, won't you grant us our own worm-like level of understanding and purpose?"

"We aren't chasing the nurse, we're chasing a monster," said Vegeta, listening along the walls and holding on to a distressed Fu at the same time. "All you three need to know is that if we don't stop Daylee Chou before he gets to my room, this entire planet will be consumed by space."

Fu was getting close to breaking his own arm from struggling so hard. "Hey, Vegeta, little bubs, let me go just this one time. I swear my heart's ready to give out. Don't want to get in the way! Ha ha ha..."

Vegeta finally released him. "Go if you want to. It's not like you'll be any safer running away. I'll just look like a fool for thinking that you were more than a brainless, spineless, piece of trash."

Fu didn't run away.

Ten more minutes of silent hurrying and they had made it into the parking hemisphere proper. And the gravity hit like it had never hit before. Where the tournament city's gravity had eased up, the parking hemisphere's gravity had been added to. Spaceships that had loomed over them in the past were now in crushed pieces, completely destroyed. Ceilings had caved in. The crunch of footsteps on gravel and rubble was what the group relied on to stay together when the piles got too high to see each other.

They came to another door, but this time Vegeta put his arms out to stop them. "Risky gamble number one," he whispered, already starting to sweat from the gravity. "If Daylee Chou isn't behind this door... it's too late and we're dead."

"Find out," Sinkgi said, before opening the door.

A gut-wrenching moment as the group was faced with an abandoned lot. But the pulsating... _thing..._ that was breaking through the ceiling just traded one danger for another.

In an instant Vegeta had leaped over it and thrown himself in front of the door across the lot. The door to his room. "All three of you, get over here!" Sinkgi and Michee had barely pushed Fu halfway around the creature when it reared up and they got a good look at it.

The thing on the top: a blue-glowing naked body with skin stretched tightly over bulging muscles and no legs, just a foot of flesh joining its torso to the head of the thing underneath. The thing underneath: identical to the thing on top except it glowed purple. The thing underneath the thing underneath, or the thing-three-things-down: identical as well, but glowing an angry red. And the thing on the bottom: a bulked-up, half-melted, barely-recognizable Daylee Chou.

Sinkgi, Fu, and Michee looked into the eight white eyes of the throbbing totem pole of horror. They didn't try to get past it and join Vegeta. They tried to run away as fast as they could.

 _ **"STOP."**_ Even Daylee Chou's monster paused at Vegeta's booming voice. "Sinkgi. Michee. Fu. _Where are you going?"_

Slowly they turned around. "Bud, that thing's really scary," Fu said shakily. "I'm begging you straight-up: please don't make us fight it."

"You know don't what it is? I figured something like this had happened."

"Something like _this?!"_ Fu pointed frantically at the monster, rumblings of a deep growl starting in four throats.

"It's the missing Cheeings, you idiot. They're just energy. Daylee absorbed them and made their bodies _incarnate._ But why? **HYAH!** " Vegeta jumped into the air and kicked the flank of the totem with all his strength. He landed clumsily, clutching his leg in pain, and the totem didn't budge. "Because... because a lot more power, that's why. Oh, _you're_ the one I want to fight now." Vegeta didn't know which pair of eyes to look at when they were all focused on him. _Intently_ focused. "What's this? Can you hear my voice? Or maybe... _ho._ Risky gamble number two, you guys." Keeping his eyes in place, Vegeta slowly edged along the wall to join his group. Tense fingers and claws dug into his back. There was no longer anyone between Daylee's monster and the gravity room.

Daylee's monster took a step. A step towards Vegeta's group. The monster's base had spent so much time around two people obsessed with martial arts, with strength. The monster was powered by _chi_ previously contracted to serve the Galajūichi Budōkai. For whatever reason...

"It... wants to fight?" Michee asked softly. Slowly, as if in a dream, Vegeta nodded. He could almost _smell_ the power wafting off this creature. It was literally a tower of _chi._

"I'm happy for you, boyo," Fu said, trying to not catch the eyes of the monster. "We'll just leave you alone for your special fight. Even though it barely blinked when you attacked it... Ow!" Sinkgi had pinched Fu's ear hard enough to make it bleed.

"It's really sturdy," Vegeta said, a grin growing on his face. "Trying to knock it down by myself would be a waste of time." Maybe just this once, he could share.

Fu's bubbles felt like they had crawled back two inches as he watched Vegeta exchange a look with Michee and Sinkgi. "Why did they look so excited? _And what was with that nod?_ The monster was five seconds away from beginning its rampage."

Fu cried as his legs were swept out from under him. In the space of a moment he found himself swaying ten feet off the ground, sitting on Sinkgi's shoulders, with Vegeta perched on top of him.

"Five steps forward, Michee," Vegeta yelled. They approached the totem and he found himself eye-to-eye with the thing on top. _"Perfect."_

Like a mouse's body accepting a human ear, each layer of Daylee's monster willingly latched onto the contestant at its level. For a few moments it was a boring scene: two poles too precariously tall to kick, tumble, or jump. They just swung their fists and stayed stuck in place.

Michee almost toppled them when she started to flap around as usual. "Oh dear!" She stopped when she noticed that her friends were bleeding.

"Michee," Vegeta said from the top.

"I knocked you right into the hands of the enemy?!" The ceiling was closing in on her. She had never felt so far away from the stars. "The ceiling is closing in on me... I have never felt so far away from the stars. I now see what my duty as Base falls on: I must find the sturdiness needed to..."

"Michee, have some fun."

With Vegeta's permission, Michee instantly forgot her shame and began to fight as if she were facing Daylee Chou alone. She dropped into a crouch and got her arm under one of his legs. Then she pulled him close and started to twist around him, giving close-quarters punches that bruised. "A weak grip betrays a weak warrior!" she preached with joy at the complaints and wobbliness coming from her teammates above.

The shape of the fight transformed. No matter what she said, Han'na Michee wasn't the only martial artist in the group. Though thrown off by her swaying momentum and ending up in different positions around the monster, Sinkgi, Fu and Vegeta quickly found their footing within this new shape. They learned the physics of fighting in a stack. And they all began to move as a whole.

Daylee's monster was seemingly unknockable, but it was yielding to the four's will. They pushed it across the parking lot, away from the gravity room door, and clear through the wall into the next area. The monster no longer had a choice: it wouldn't be able to continue until its challenger was crushed.

It broke free and charged away into the distance. "After! It's looping around to get at the room?" Sinkgi asked, clinging onto Michee's shoulders as she broke into a run.

"That's not it..." Vegeta mused, cracking the ceiling with his head as he was jostled up and down. "I don't think those Cheeing add-ons feel all this extra gravity. You get it, don't you, Michee?"

"I've trained hard with all of you! If a nurse and three minimum wage attendants think they can out-stamina _me,_ they..."

But spending so much time in the parking hemisphere had given them false confidence. Going from 15 G to 20 G was trouble. Even Vegeta, built for heavy gravity and riding on top, was starting to tire.

They made it quite a ways away before they realized they had left the room completely exposed. On the slow way back, an exhausted Michee made twice as much noise stumbling towards the gravity room.

Too busy looking for the room, the four were snatched up into the ceiling by the totem just as they made it back. They took nine blows before they escaped. But an unsteady trembling remained. Something was wrong.

"Sinkgi?" Vegeta asked, not taking his eyes off his top opponent.

"Can't see," Sinkgi's scared voice from below.

"Did you get overexcited?"

"Yes."

Shoot. Hysterical blindness. "Don't panic. Sense his movements. Just do what you can, as long as you're conscious and mobile you aren't useless." The tremble eased up slightly.

"Vegeta?" Fu got out in between pushing away the monster and trying to breathe. "This gravity's a problem. It's getting hard to lift my arms and my legs are going numb from holding on."

"So?" Vegeta hissed. "I'm supposed to do something about that? This fight is what it is. Don't talk when you could be attacking."

"I think we're all gonna—"

Daylee's totem drove them through another wall, up a large ramp, and out under the open skies. The landscape was barren—nothing but the soft landing pad for miles. Across the dark sky, ships entering Sazz's atmosphere lit up in a moment's spark like the flick of a lighter.

"Get back down!" Fu screamed frantically to Michee. "There's spaceships landing! We'll be killed!"

"What did I just say?" Vegeta lunged towards the monster totem and tried to pull it over. It held firm. The two groups struggled their way over the squishy terrain. Who was winning? Daylee Chou certainly wasn't destroying the gravity generator, but the four martial artists were flagging in 20 G.

Every punch one of the Cheeings took tore off a small ribbon of energy that quickly evaporated. That was the key. If that meant they were doing damage, they had a chance. Was his Cheeing looking a little less robust? Between the darkness of the outdoors and Vegeta's exhaustion, he couldn't tell. All he knew was that his _own punches_ hurt _._ It was getting hard to move. Their own totem, which should be the epitome of strength and passion and inspired youth, felt rickety and brittle.

Vegeta knew none of them would be able to stand this gravity on their own. But he could feel their need to collapse. Fu was the weakest and a coward. Sinkgi was blind and because of that had taken the most damage. Michee was at her limit from literally carrying them all on her shoulders under this 20 G.

"This is it. We've lost," said four scared voices underneath Vegeta.

He was angry. He was damn _pissed._ He didn't make it through that deep-space hell starving, freezing, and bleeding out for weeks only to have it all end on the _single_ planet he travelled to peacefully! To have it end trying to _save_ a measly planet full of tourists! And besides...

"You all came here assuming that you were safe," said Vegeta, furiously pounding into his opponent. "That's it, isn't it! You're _scared_ because today the world told you the right to live isn't free!"

"D—do you think so too, then?" stuttered Fu. "We're going to die here..."

"What do you know about death?!" The gravity was still in place, but Vegeta's fists were being stoked by an invisible fire. "This is nothing! If you live surrounded by _real_ monsters, unable to speak out of turn, no choice but to bend to them, to..." his throat caught, "... to hand over your _life_ to them, you'd be ecstatic right now! Look! An enemy where fighting back isn't _suicide!_ But I'm sure it _looks_ like that to you! Oh my, big scary totem man wants to destroy this planet! Better save him the trouble and just roll over and die! Let me tell you what a _warrior_ does in a fight with no crowds, out-of-boundses, or forfeits: he _fights!_ What do high stakes mean? Try harder! Now let's all bring our _chi_ together and make one last attack to—"

Michee, bruised and bloody and barely listening to Vegeta's words, finally fell. Their stack began to tip. Vegeta clamped his legs around Fu in a death grip. Without thinking, Fu did the same to Sinkgi who followed suit with Michee. Suddenly their totem, though toppling over sideways, was as stiff as a board. That gave Vegeta an idea.

Daylee's monster was content to watch its opponents fall to the ground like a pile of rocks. It would be easy to crush their battered skulls, already half-dead in this gravity. Spacing out of the moment in the glow of victory, Daylee's monster didn't quite register the power in the way the top boy's hands connected with the ground, or how the top boy was underneath and the bottom girl was quickly rising up.

With everything he had left, Vegeta planted his hands firmly and swung Michee, Sinkgi, and Fu into Daylee's totem. He didn't stop when the two poles made contact. He pushed. He pushed even though the 20 G was clawing apart every tendon and muscle fibre in his wrists and shoulders.

He pushed until Daylee's monster broke apart in a cloud of multi-colored _chi._ And then all eight of them were dragging themselves to their feet on the ground. The evening air was cool. Only the light from the distant landing ships and the dim auras of injured Cheeings lit the scene.

"Okay everyone, this is the last stretch," said Vegeta softly. "Find a glowing buddy and destroy them. I'm getting the nurse." One look at Daylee Chou's angry twitching form said he still wasn't himself. He seemed to light up in orange as Vegeta limped towards him.

**!**

Vegeta didn't process the impact until after he regained consciousness. He was on his feet—nope—he was on his knees but he had just been standing. Only blacked out for a second? One ear ringing, the other dead. Something warm that was probably blood soaking his hair, trickling past his right temple.

Bodies all around him, mostly unfamiliar. Pieces of some sort of wreckage. It was all starting to sink under the spongy ground.

Vegeta tried to pick up his friends and fly somewhere else, but pain exploded in his shoulder and chest. Something broken. The gravity. He couldn't breathe. Somehow he threw all three of them away from the wreckage, pulling himself and Daylee Chou after them. The Cheeings had disintegrated.

His head was starting to clear. The floor was sinking because they were standing on a landing pad. A spaceship had landed on top of them. Vegeta watched the last lifeless face slip under the ground. All the passengers had died on impact. No commercial ship was designed to withstand a 20 G landing.

Every landing that had taken place over the past hour had shared that same fate.

Slowly, agonizingly, Vegeta crawled through his group of fighters. Everyone was alive, including Daylee. Vegeta's Saiyan DNA cried out for the closure of finishing the fight. But Bisque and Maj would do something annoying to this tournament... and he told them he'd get their nurse.

"Still, you and your 'chrisivarytiphobia' have caused us a lot of trouble," Vegeta grumbled, sitting on Daylee's chest. "Beat up my friends..." (It was a good experience for them) "Roughed _me_ up a little, too..." (More strength once he healed plus getting to fight in 20 G) "Ruined my vacation..." (He had needed the excitement. Needed it a lot.)

At the very least, he was stuck with Daylee Chou and a bad smell until help arrived. Bad smell? More familiar than bad, actually...

That forest fear scent. The one Vegeta had assumed was left behind by the Cheeings as Daylee absorbed them. It was stronger than ever now, and clearly coming from a spot on Daylee Chou's left set of ribs. Huh. The Cheeings were never the one who was most afraid after all.

Vegeta wasn't a doctor and he didn't care about Daylee Chou's well being (as long as he was alive.) But his nose was making his mind think something and the little bump his eyes saw encouraged him.

If that fear-smelling growth on Daylee Chou's flank was responsible for his chrisivarytiphobia, cutting it out would free him. He wouldn't be afraid of flying. He could finally be all parts nurse and no part rage-monster. He probably wouldn't even need an operation, considering how it smelled so close to the skin. It could just be ripped out right then and there.

Vegeta went for his spleen instead.

*⁂*⁂*

Maj, Bisque, and Teck, the only people who knew what was taking place on the other side of the planet, had resigned themselves to death. And what better way to go than watching MATA VS LOE OTT?

*⁂*⁂*

 _The two children across the playroom were grabbing handfuls of markers to connect the caps with the bottoms and make swords. No adults were around, so they were free to do battle with their spindly weapons as long as they liked with no one to stop them._

 _But the group of babies, swaddled in blankets and onesies and waving their stubby arms and legs on the ground like underwater seaweed, were more interested in the toddler and the older boy. He was minding his own business with an etch-a-sketch until she toddled up and tried to pull it away from him. He was five years old and much heavier, much more confident on his feet. When he wouldn't let go she bit him. The boy's temper overtook him and he threw her out the open window._

 _The babies let out a chorus of coos and cries and..._

*⁂*⁂*

... The match was over. There had been no hiccup from the gravity. A brief warning came on the loudspeaker: Everyone please remain in your seats, the proper gravity will be restored shortly. A group of security guards and the mechanics who weren't busy in the green spot, with Teck and the royalty tagging behind, rushed to get to the parking hemisphere. They were working through their plan as they reached the orientation building. "You three, accompany those two straight to the gravity generator. And you six, give support to those vigilante contestants. Your Highnesses, what are you doing here please stay back it's dangerous we don't know what's happened."

Like a vending machine, the moving sidewalk dispensed unconscious Sinkgi, Fu, Michee; unmoving and bleeding Daylee Chou; and stubbornly awake Vegeta at their feet. Shocked silence.

The orientation building's gravity wasn't even 10 G, but Vegeta still took half a minute just to stand up. Two trembling hands clutched the railing in a death grip. Small, shuffling footsteps. Aching knees. Blood dripping on the gleaming floor. A foot resting on Daylee Chou's chest.

"Here's your nurse, Cookies." Daylee was slid across the floor to reunite with his employers. "Thanks for all your generosity, but if you really want to help this tournament... you'll take him away and not bring him back."

"We never asked who you were," Prince Bisque said, eyeing something behind Vegeta with wide eyes. "But then you said—back then, you said... Could it be? Are you—"

"The Prince of All Saiyans."

"—The Prince of All Saiyans?"

Vegeta didn't have anything else to say. He just turned, noticed his newly-grown tail, and fell back onto the pile of his friends. Asleep with a smile.

*⁂*⁂*

One thing about the Freeza Force: no one cared about your accomplishments, so quietly unwinding alone from a mission was a privilege Vegeta took for granted. What started out as one Galajū attendant carrying him back somehow led to Vegeta riding through the streets on a sea of drunken after-partygoers. He was being paraded through the streets for what was surely the first and last time in his life. That was the night Sazz breathed a sigh of relief, crisis averted, while the Galajū rejoiced at the long-awaited return of a Saiyan.

Vegeta's crowd merged with another bigger one. Between the flashing neon lights, the buffet of evening restaurant smells, and the crowds' endless white noise, Vegeta almost missed the other body being lifted onto the floor of shoulders. As the two were passed closer together, he was suddenly alert again. He was arms' length away from _Loe Ott._

Vegeta only needed one look to know Ott had beaten Mata. As they passed by each other close enough to touch, he felt his chance growing farther and farther away. All this energy they were literally surfing on was for battles already fought.

A strong hand clapped down on Vegeta's shoulder. "Tomorrow," a voice he had never heard before said, even as Loe Ott was carried away.

Vegeta needed to get down. People kept grabbing his tail. (His tail!) He wrapped it around his waist, giving himself a little jolt at the memory of the Museum of War, and tried to make them understand that all he needed was a meal and a good night's sleep for tomorrow.


	32. A Forest of Mist(ery)

Chapter 32

Day 1 of 10 (in the Galajū's 10-day cycle, that is)

No one watched their fight. Maybe because they had it in the parking hemisphere without telling anyone. Or maybe because a memorial service was being held at the same time for the hundreds of people who had passed away trying to land on Sazz while the forest generator was down. No matter, neither of them particularly wanted an audience.

Vegeta noticed the echoes of Loe Ott's footsteps on the concrete floor. They sounded different than what he was used to in this space. Before long, they had reached an area that was sufficiently empty and faced each other in the spacious room. "I've wanted to fight you ever since I first laid eyes on you," Vegeta said lowly. "Your presence is one of the most magnetic I've ever seen."

"I don't mind indulging you. It sounds like you helped out the tournament runners with something," Ott said lightly. "What was your name again?"

"... I'm _Vegeta._ " Calm down. At least he was looking at him. They were going to fight no matter what. "I get it... people as strong as us can't— _shouldn't_ —take up every challenge they get. They have to be discerning. And you still haven't seen me fight. But no matter what you do or don't know about me, you're going to pay me proper respect because I've already had all I can stomach of your attitude." The slightly bored look on Ott's face didn't really lift but that didn't matter anymore. The fight had already begun. It was a fight he had been looking forward to all week.

For the only time all week, he was going to fight like a Saiyan in the Freeza Force.

 _Two natural enemies are the sperm whale and the giant squid. They're the largest creatures around for miles, doing battle day in and day out hundreds of feet below where the water is murky. The whale always starts the fight because the giant squid is tasty. But the whale is the one who legendarily bears the scars of battle with club-like tentacles twenty feet long. The sperm whale is the creature of the surface. It has to keep coming up for air while its opponent lurks in the deep, waiting for the match to resume._

"You're flagging!" Vegeta said, half accusatory half delighted as Loe Ott panted and sweated under the gravity. Ott didn't give any reply, he just jumped at Vegeta for another attack.

 _Does that make the rivalry unbalanced? We humans have more in common with the whale, but that makes the squid much more mysterious and appealing. It lives a monster's life in the black ocean under tons of water, getting up to who-knows-what._

"I'm gonna rip your arm off," Vegeta said suddenly when he had Loe Ott pinned. He could feel the shudder tensing underneath him.

"That's it, time out," Ott said, trying to pry apart Vegeta's grip. "I said _time out._ Get off me."

"'Time out'? You mean stop? If you don't want me to, just fight back."

"No, I'm not putting up with this, maiming is against the rules."

"The rules."

"Yes, the rules of the Galajū." Ott looked surprisingly indignant for someone whose neck was trapped under Vegeta's forearm.

"This isn't between two Galajū contestants, it's between you and me. Here I go, stop me."

 _Then again, who's seen a giant squid alive? Do they even exist? Where's the power in something you can't fight or taste for yourself?_

Vegeta's clothes were finally, truly, really, and properly stained with blood. Loe Ott was in similar shape. The tempered concrete was beginning to crack as the fight turned rougher by the second. His eyes narrowed with pleasure. " _Perfect._ "

But at the same time Loe Ott gave a rattled look of wide-eyed fear. "This is over. I've had enough."

"What's your power level?" Vegeta shouted after Ott, who was heading for the door.

"11,100," Ott disappeared, leaving Vegeta out of breath and strangely disappointed. _11,100._ That was really something. But he didn't fight like a _11,100._ Maybe Ott had been a coward all along and had just never had the chance to show it.

Vegeta visited the generator room once more for old time's sake. All of his things had long since been cleared out. He couldn't really complain—it was a miracle he hadn't broken the thing himself during all his training sessions. It was even more of a miracle he didn't break it now on purpose to get that 20 G back. But the Galajū probably wouldn't stand for another few hours' worth of still-landings.

Most of the parking hemisphere had been cleared out and hosed down. Vegeta had three more days before Sazz was in position for him to go back. He was lucky—everyone else had to wait extra weeks to get home, all of their ships had been destroyed. But his combatant pod was built for rougher seas and remained undamaged.

He found another empty lot, rolled his ship into the corner for safekeeping, and continued his training alone.

Day 2 of 10

Vegeta didn't know the whole planet was in mourning over those crushed lives. He did know the lot he was staying in smelled like death. So he was more than a little surprised when the contestants began to show up. Coming in ones and twos and threes, they were those who had arrived yesterday and missed the action, those who were rougher around the edges, those who had heard the rumors about his skill, his heritage. They invariably brought food and a simple request: to fight him.

The lot filled up over the course of the day and suddenly Vegeta was the host of a back-alley party. He let it happen. The only rules: anyone joining had to bring a dish of food and there had to be a fight happening _at all times._ Not such a steep request at the Galajū.

For the first time he was _talking._ Laughing. Having fun even when he wasn't fighting. About ten brave souls even spent the night in the 15 G parking hemisphere with him. Now _this_ was the Galajū.

Day 3 of 10

No one could stand the gravity for long, but replacements were showing up all the time. Vegeta recognized a few people from yesterday staying twice as long today.

Mata must have remembered this was his last day, because she, Sinkgi, Fu, and Michee all showed up first thing in the morning.

"Hi..." said the three of them. They looked tired and pale.

Vegeta gave them a nod. They had woken him up, but he was already the most alert person in the room. He was practically glowing as he offered them leftovers from last night. "Well? Why are you here?" No one was making a move.

"Let's have our rematch," said Mata, stepping over a few sleeping bodies. "I've been eating nonstop since the finals. I have enough energy to finally fight you at my full strength."

"So?" Vegeta started kicking people awake. A few trickled in from the outside with bacon and pancakes.

"'So?' _So,_ let's do it! Show these amateurs an exclusive fight on par with the finals!"

"I've already fought you a bunch of times," said Vegeta through a mouthful. "There's new people arriving by the second."

"But you know how much I was holding back before! I'm saying I'll fight with all my—"

"Why do you think that matters to me anymore?" Vegeta asked. "I already told you, we would fight if you won the finals. You lost. I already settled things with Loe Ott, it's in the past. The week is out. Get out of here."

The other three left with Mata. It was out of character for her, but something about the smell in the room, the warm temperature of the air, the way the sleepy and hungry party-goers began to seem like tigers... bears... wolves... with all of that plus Vegeta, finally getting to her, she didn't want to stay.

Vegeta didn't bother to conserve relationships with four people he'd never see again. The strength and skill they had all built from training together was priceless on its own. Mid-afternoon, he went across the planet to his audience rooms for a shower and a nap. He returned to the lot to find everyone gone, the party debris all cleared away. His ship clock gave him just over an hour before he had to take off.

Everything packed away, Vegeta was carrying his ship to the launchpad when something started ringing from inside the pod. He pulled a buzzing and flashing comm from his duffel bag.

 _"Hello, Mr. Vegeta,"_ said a chilling wake-up call to the reality he had left for a few precious days. _"Had a nice vacation? It's time to get back to work. Don't bother returning to_ _65_ _, I have an errand for you that you'll be getting started on right now..."_

*⁂*⁂*

"Are you serious? Even you, Kī?" Vegeta barely held himself back from smashing down the office.

"You can't. This planet is not to be used as a bypass to the rest of the galaxy. Everyone leaves the way they came." That was third time in a row Vegeta heard that spiel. Expected from the launchpad worker. Not surprising from Teckanon. But even Kī? _Even_ _K_ _ī_ _?_

"What I did for this planet should count for something," Vegeta snarled, pushing Kīmon against the marble wall.

"Vegeta, we need you off of this planet in half an hour."

"I _fought_ for you!"

"If you don't step away, I'll be forced to—"

Vegeta pushed himself off. His comm was ringing again. _"You understand what it means for me to trust you to handle yourself well. This planet is one big variable. Mr. Vegeta, please forget about returning alive if you fail your mission."_

"Yes, Lord Freeza."

 _"And naturally, Nappa and Raditz as well."_

"Yes, Lord Freeza." Smug prick. Was he supposed to be grateful for such patronizing "trust" thrown at him like a stick to a dog?

 _"Somewhere on the planet's surface, a bundle of supplies has been dropped for you. Armor, tools, a first-aid kit, a spare communicator and scouter. The comm's registration number is 824-772-165. Once you've landed and retrieved the package, contact Mr. Ronji. He will advise you from that point onward. I'll be waiting. Goodbye."_

"You," Vegeta said, turning back to Kī. "I'm not feeling very appreciated. Letting me stay another three days isn't going to cost you anything. But believe me, I'll be changing that if you still—"

"Was that Freeza? _The_ Freeza? On your comm?" Kī squeaked.

"Yeah. So like I was saying, I don't think any of you could—"

"You work for him?"

"That's right. You have this whole intimidation tactic for keeping everyone in line, but—"

"You need to stay longer on his orders?"

"Does it matter? You've clearly made up your mind, so I'll have to—"

"Of course it matters, what are you saying?!" Kī's sickly grin was a carbon copy of Teck's. "Please, stay here as long as you need. I'll have a word with Teck, he'll understand. Why you didn't tell us who you really were earlier, I have no idea."

Vegeta spluttered. He ran out of words. All he could do was try to not let the betrayal show on his face. He had enough of the Galajū.

*⁂*⁂*

 _Let me give you a lesson on the predecessor of the modern zoo. Once upon a time, it was nothing more than an open field contained by a chain-link fence. Animals and humans alike were let in at the gate to play, feast, nap, and visit with one another to their hearts' content. The fence itself was a new addition—previously, one too many travellers used the field as a shortcut to other places instead of a final destination. Everyone agreed the fence was necessary, and up it went._

 _One day a tiger came to the zoo. New animals no one had see before were always coming to play, but this one was different. He had a beautiful orange and black fur coat. He was bigger than the rest, even bigger than the bear, and he won all their games. And he ate more than anyone else, even the pigs._

 _The tiger had heard about the zoo and knew the kind of behavior that was expected. It was against his nature, but he liked seeing all the different creatures after spending so much time alone. He had fun playing with them. The eggs they had for breakfast every morning were delicious._

 _But as the days passed, little things began to itch at his whiskers. They didn't let him pounce on anybody even though he said he was just playing. "I didn't even bite their neck, see? They're still alive. What's the big deal?" They wanted him to talk about the other tigers, even when he told them he had been alone for years. He kept bumping his nose on the fence._

 _Most of all, they didn't want him to leave. They pulled him back when he tried to climb out. He had been told, over and over, "Follow the rules. They'll gang up on you if you step out of line." But his tiger nature was deaf to guidance. It wasn't soon before he stopped hearing them himself._

 _He tore up the flower patches, slit the pillows, beat everyone back with his huge paws and snapped the necks of the rabbits and foxes. Then he climbed over the fence and never came back._

 _Now the zoos aren't open all-hours anymore and they keep everyone caged up._

*⁂*⁂*

It was a night time landing. A gust of wind ebbed and breezed through the foliage like living breath. His ship was a beacon of light cutting streaks through the mist and shining artificial rays that reached even the forest canopy eighty meters above. _Everyone can see me,_ Vegeta thought, reaching back in to turn off the ship's cabin lighting. _Everyone can see me._ After the 24/7 crush and buzz on limited real estate that was the Galajū, he could feel his thoughts travelling out in all directions, steaming in the mist, holding their own weight. The scouts had dropped off the package from orbit—Vegeta was the first alien to ever set foot on this planet. He was alone.

The package in question was easily found within ten meters of his landing crater. They had chosen well—this forest was remote enough that it had not been stolen before his arrival.

 _Drip, drip._

Blood on the round leaves. Blood crusted under his fingernails. Blood covering the inside of his ship. What was dry was a mystery but what was fresh was unquestionably his.

 _No. No, don't tell me..._ With mounting dread Vegeta stumbled back down into the landing crater with his package and relit his ship. Armor, check. Scouter, check. Backup comm, check. Nothing else. _"Bastard,"_ Vegeta got out, dragging himself out of the pit. _"He told me... he told me..."_

Deep breath in. Deep breath out. In. The air was humid and practically skin-temperature. Out. Stifling. He must have begun to sweat, but who could tell with all this _blood_ on him? In. He was thirsty. Out. He had to get moving. In. The air smelled like soil and water and strangeness and smoke. Out. His senses were giving him something.

Vegeta turned one way and set off. He would like to take to the air for a better view and faster trip. He would like to use his _chi_ to light the way. He could do neither. He knew he was hurt, but was he really hurt so bad that he couldn't use his _chi?_

Vegeta, feet dragging along the ground, came across a young woman lighting lamps. Her noseless face was yellow in the firelight and very wide with a wide, flat mouth and bulging eyes like a frog. She was short, only a little taller than him. Her dark hair was thick and bunched up behind her head. And her dress was loose but had a deceptive amount of layering to it. She jumped when he came into the lamplight, fumbling with her torch as her hand flew up to cover round eye, but she did not run.

 _"H... hospital..."_ Vegeta got out. She stared at him uncomprehendingly. He gritted his teeth. "I... _said..._ I need... a hospital... look at me..." He shifted the supplies in his arms which sent a little splatter of blood raining down.

 **"XXX? X... XXX XX X?"** she said, eyes flicking down to his feet then up again. **"XX, XXX XX. XX XXXXX."**

Vegeta swayed on his feet. He didn't recognize one single influence from one single root language he knew. Of course. This planet was on the other half. That made things trickier.

That made things trickier, however, the woman crossed one foot in front of the other, bending at the waist but not taking her eyes off him. She extinguished her torch and turned to the path softly lit with silver lamps. She held out a palm behind her at Vegeta and began to walk back the way she had come.

*⁂*⁂*

Paying no mind to the dark figures lying still on either side of him, Vegeta fiddled with the buttons on his comm until it was set off.

Vrrr. Beebeebeep! Vrrrrr. Beebee— _click!_

"Ronji."

 _"Vegeta! It's been a while. Did you make it?"_

"Yeah, I'm just getting settled. I found the package." Vegeta winced at his lack of foresight in leaving the Galajū without taking some extra blood for the road. "What happened to that first-aid kit?"

 _"What first-aid kit?"_

"... Never mind. So what exactly am I looking for?"

 _"With your planet's atmospheric conditions, I'm guessing it'll be in mineral form. Look for glowing orange rocks."_

"Do you have any coordinates for me?"

 _"Nope. Somewhere on the planet."_

"Great, thanks." Vegeta hung up and fell back on his pillow, exhausted. He'd lost somewhere between 30%–50% of his blood supply; he'd have to be in the dark about the exact amount because he'd spent years of his life studying root language after root language only to land on this planet where they didn't speak any of it.

The locals must know who he was, or at least sense it, the way they took him in and gave him temporary blood as a placeholder for his recovery. He had little experience with natural recovery, and no idea of how long he'd be stuck here. His heartbeat was thin and skittery in a way it had never been before. There weren't any mirrors in the room, but even looking at his shaking hands in the dim hallway light Vegeta could tell how pale he was. Nothing to do but rest and think, for now. And all he could think about was what he had done before he set out for this planet...

Vegeta woke up to morning light and a nurse changing the blood bag at his bedside. He went through ten blood bags over the next three days, and didn't speak a word the whole time. He just watched the frog people in brightly colored layers go about their bizarre alien day from outside the window. If a townsperson caught his eye they would always stop in their tracks and give a bow before hurrying off.

"Hey." It didn't matter that the nurse didn't understand his words, Vegeta speaking for the first time caught her attention. The Saiyan leaned forward and pulled the pillow out from behind his back. "What's this?"

 **"XXXX, XX XXXX."** The nurse wasn't giving a word, she was talking.

"What... is... this..." Vegeta said, putting in more emphasis and holding the pillow forward. The nurse muttered something. Vegeta got out of bed and shoved the pillow under his nose, repeating the question.

The nurse looked with something Vegeta was tempted to call interest. **"** _ **Karma**_ **,"** she said clearly.

"Karma," Vegeta repeated, pointing to the pillow. The nurse sort of clacked her teeth together.

Vegeta held up the blankets. **"** _ **Muff**_ **."**

"Muff."

 _clack._

Vegeta pointed at the floor. **"** _ **Uke**_ **."**

"Uke."

 _clack._

After fifteen minutes when he had found all the one-interpretation-only objects he could, he pointed at himself. "Vegeta."

 **"Fakita,"** the nurse repeated with difficulty.

"Vegeta."

" **Fusheeta?"**

"Vegeta."

The nurse gritted her teeth and waved her hand in front of her face. " **XXX XXX, XXXXXXXXXXXX XX XXXX XXXXX."**

Vegeta slumped down in his bed. Was she refusing his _name?_ Looks like he'd have to start doing some more talking before they got past introductions, much less to orange rocks.

*⁂*⁂*

Vrrr. Beebeebeep! Vrrr. Beebeebeep! Vrrr. Beebeebeep! Vrrr. Beebee—

"What?"

 _"It's been a whole week since you arrived and Freeza wants_ — _"_

"Why call me if you want an update? Didn't I tell you I'd get in touch when I've made some progress?"

 _"Uh, no, you didn't."_

"Oh. Now you know. I'll call you back."

 _"Wait_ — _"_

 _click._

*⁂*⁂*

Fifteen days of bedrest on this planet had been enough to get Vegeta almost 100% again, but he was still living at the hospital because they were keeping his room for him and bringing him food. It was time.

" **I'm look..."** Vegeta began when the nurse came in with his supper. He didn't get past those two words. It had been fifteen days and he didn't know how to say "rocks", "orange", "special", or anything else to describe them. It wasn't time.

That night, five figures appeared before him.

Unlike the townspeople, they were tall. Unlike the townspeople, their layered clothes were in black, navy blue, and maroon and carried no patterns or design. They wore chunky boots instead of sandals and each carried a travelling bag.

The one at the front of the group, whose haunted eyes were at odds with the excited ones of his companions, was the one who spoke. **"** _ **Shi-o'yo'ki'kai'ma'nin'ma'te'ku'a'ma.**_ **We go now. Come with us."**

*⁂*⁂*

Vrrrr. Beebee—

 _"Finally! Updates, please and thank you."_

"Ronji, the scouter they gave me is broken." Vegeta said distractedly, eyes on one of the pages of his new picture dictionary. It was a gift from the five strangers. They had left him with it on a park bench, maybe to get extra supplies for the journey he was apparently accompanying them on.

 _"Is there a triangle symbol in the upper right hand corner of the screen?"_

Vegeta squinted around the early-morning glare of the sun through the tinted glass. "Yeah."

 _"Oh? Then nothing's wrong with it."_

"Don't give me that. It isn't reading a single power level. Why did Freeza put me on this _extremely important_ mission and then send over broken and missing gear?"

 _"Vegeta, I made it. Trust me. It isn't broken."_

"Then what—" Vegeta saw the dark group heading towards him from across the street. "Gotta go. Maybe I'll give you that update later today, if I remember," he said with a teasing smile.

 _"VEGETA_ — _"_

 _click._

One of them threw Vegeta a small black travelling bag and a box of food for breakfast. He ate quickly in front of them. **"Eight more,"** he said, holding up eight fingers. They stared at him, then the leader clacked his teeth and said something. One of them took his bag back. They all left again.

While Vegeta waited for them again he flipped through his book. Even after finally recovering, something was starting to feel wrong. He came across a long, stringy creature that looked like it could possibly be some kind of bird. Vegeta stared long and hard at the example sentences underneath and mulled over grammar until the group came back.

The new travelling bag they brought him was at least three times his size, and they seemed reluctant to hand it over. "Come on," Vegeta said impatiently, pulling it off their shoulders. "I'm stronger than I look."

 **"** _ **Shi-o'yo'ki'kai'ma'nin'ma'te'ku'a'ma**_ **is ready?"** the leader asked.

 **"Can you fly?"** Vegeta replied. There were mutterings in the group.

 **"We do not understand. Fly like a chaï?"**

Vegeta remembered the label accompanying the stringy thing. **"Yes, like a chaï."**

" **If we could fly, the** _ **O'ko'mo'ko'na'to'i'ro**_ **would not be** _ **o'ko'mo'ko."**_

Vegeta had seen that word before, he was sure. " **What is o'ko** — **"**

" **Are you ready?"** the leader asked again.

"Uh, **yes,"** Vegeta said, absentmindedly flipping through the dictionary. Someone took the book from him and put it away.

" **Talk later. You have so much more to learn. Now we go."**

They were intercepted near the edge of town by a man wearing at least five more layers than anyone else, all of them white and gauzy. **"Stop! You must XXX XXXX, XX outside is too XXX,"** he intoned, his sleeves flapping in the wind. The group shifted until the man looked down and noticed Vegeta. He flinched, made a quick bow, and immediately led them to a sort of raised breezeway with a few pillars and altars and plenty of torches and candles, lit even during the day. Pride of place, right in the middle of the floor, was Vegeta's spaceship.

"You're keeping it for me?" Vegeta said in Universal to the man, who couldn't understand.

 **"It is here, for you,"** he said carefully. **"XXXX XX XXX.'**

 **"He said, 'safe XXXX,'"** said one of the group as they were walking off. **"And also do not tell the others, we are XXXXXXXX."**

 _What? What, what, what?_ Vegeta thought to himself. **"Where are we going?"** he asked aloud.

 **"XXXX to XXXXXXX"** answered the leader as they finally were deep enough into the tall forest to lose sight of the town.

The forest smelled a lot stronger than Vegeta remembered. It was heady and cloying and it stuffed up his sinuses until he couldn't smell anything else. Normally he wouldn't take losing his most precious sense lightly but his whole head felt like it was stuffed with cotton and all he could do was go along with the travellers that towered over him. The dappled light gave the trees a hazy look and the sunlight was a late-afternoon sort of orange, even though it was mid morning. Late-afternoon orange... that reminded him... Vegeta held up his picture dictionary and squinted through the fog, flipped through the pages...

Suddenly he was sitting down in front of a traveller, his picture dictionary in one hand, a drumstick in the other. The rest of the travellers were off to one side in a circle, roasting a pig-sized forest animal over a fire.

Vegeta shook his head a little, blinked, and continued going over vocabulary with the traveller. He made it all the way from _kori-o,_ dust, to _zumaname,_ fingernails.

" **Have you seen orange rocks?"** Vegeta asked, somehow having learned the words between now and that morning. The sun had set some time ago.

" **Again? No."**

" **You already saw?"  
**

" _ **No,**_ **you already ask** **. I never saw."**

Vegeta started to frown at that. He'd actually lost the entire day. What was going on?

Then the traveller leaned in close and, after half an hour of dictionary cross references, more-basic-than-basic description, and mime, Vegeta finally got the impression that they wanted him along as a guard.

"Do you have something on me? How do you know I'd be a good guard?" Vegeta asked sleepily, breathing in the woodsy smell and smoke. He rolled onto his side and saw the campsite had been set up. Some bedding had come out, and in the fire's place they had laid out six large candles that barely cast light on faces two feet away and gave off no heat whatsoever. The temperature had dropped like a stone with the sun.

Vegeta shuddered with that traumatic, primal fear that seemed determined to resurface every few years. When he tried to marshal his _chi_ for warmth, that handy trick he'd used countless times and had been able to do for more than half his life, absolutely nothing happened. That sealed it. There was no denying.

On this planet, _chi_ didn't exist, whether you were an outsider or a local.

And Vegeta was very cold.

The group was all wrapped up in piles of thick blankets, with one extra. Vegeta joined them. The second he got in, he was surrounded by a warmth more comfortable than he'd thought possible from a pile of rags. He was calm in an instant. The candles formed an inner circle, one at the feet of each person, and the leader began to speak. Vegeta and his halting whateverese couldn't understand a word; the leader wasn't simplifying things at all. Even as the rapt travellers leaned forwards, Vegeta was fading fast in the flickering candlelight and gentle chill breeze. He barely noticed when the leader stopped speaking and pinched out his candle.

Vegeta's eyes drooped closed as muffled, incomprehensible speech made its way around the circle for what felt like hours. Just as he finally drifted off the talking stopped and he snapped awake. All the travellers eyes were on him—his candle was the only one left burning.

 _Did they want him to say something? He had no idea what they were talking about._ " **Another time,"** Vegeta yawned, rolling over in his sleeping bag. The travellers somehow accepted that and he could hear them settling down around him. True darkness fell as the last candle was extinguished. Then...

" **Make sure they don't come in the night, Shi-o'yo'ki'kai'ma'nin'ma'te'ku'a'ma,"** said the leader across from Vegeta. Vegeta noticed they all had their backs facing into the circle to sleep looking out into the woods. He stayed awake all night, staring into the blackness.


	33. Journey to the XXXXXXXXX

Chapter 33

 **"What am I a guard for?"** Vegeta asked the next morning. He took a small breath and a big grammatical leap. **"Who am I guard for?"**

 **"** _ **O-ti'e,**_ **"** said one of the travellers. **"They take XXXX from XXX X XX. They have very big XX."**

After a quick breakfast, the camp was clear and they were on their way. But it was slow going. The leader kept stopping every few feet to wrap his arms around a tree, press his ear up against the bark, lie face down in a starfish on the forest floor, and cry out _**"She'go'sa'ga!"**_ Vegeta spoke to the others and had his picture dictionary in hand at all times, but the best he got was **"He's searching for** _ **She'go'sa'ga.**_ **"**

Yes, progress was slow, but not slow enough that they didn't bump into the leader when he came to a jolting halt. He slowly turned his head over one shoulder. The rest of the travellers clacked their teeth quietly at him. The whole group shuffled sideways off to the left, leaving Vegeta behind. He stared at the expanse of forest, dark and dappled even though it was midmorning, and noted that the wind was blowing forwards. Smell and sound of what lay ahead was hidden from them.

Vegeta caught up with the group and asked what happened. They used a word he'd never heard before, not exactly a rare occurrence, but with some thought he realized it was a compound of "avoid" and "path"... so it must mean detour.

Vegeta stalked behind the group and scanned the area to pick up on other life the way his companions somehow had. This was another whack planet. Why hire him as a guard if they were just going to run around the O-ti'e, whoever they were?

The sun was high in the sky but it had barely warmed up. The travellers were still travelling when it started to rain. The rain drops, though few in number, tore through the canopy with such force that equal parts water and leaves were raining down on the forest floor. The rain stopped as the temperature dropped, rather sneakily, a couple important degrees.

Suddenly there was ice. At first Vegeta caught his legs trying to slip out from under him. Then he had to walk with his head down, carefully judging the ground before every step he took. The soles of his boots were completely smooth and therefore completely useless. Everyone was moving at a snail's pace, back hunched forwards and hands out in preparation, but it was Vegeta who slipped almost every other step, and fell over almost every time he slipped. He would always put his foot down to catch himself and the frictionless surface would just send it sliding out from under him again. It would have been frustrating if he hadn't been along for the ride. As it was, he had a hard time keeping a straight face. Especially with the total bewilderment on the travellers' faces whenever their bodyguard fell.

Vegeta pressed his hands over his mouth and snickered to himself as they all slid off to the left. The ground was only sloped a few degrees, but their own weight was enough to send them moving down the gentle hill. And they had no choice—take one step and they'd fall over yet again.

Vegeta took a little tumble and rolled down once the ground levelled out for the sheer fun of it. When he stood up, the travellers' bags were gone. Someone must have stolen them. Someone had cut the straps and they hadn't even noticed. Even Vegeta. He'd been busy with... what had he been busy with? Hey, where was _his_...

 _DAMMIT._ The ground dropped out from Vegeta as he remembered what was in his bag: his scouter and his _comm._ His head snapped up and he caught sight of the tail end of a large group disappearing into the trees. There was no bare ground in sight, yet they were running at speed. Leaving behind a trail of pockmarks in the ice. Vegeta had already dropped to all fours and was scrambling across the ice, fingers carving handholds in it. The group ahead rushed into view and he was on top of them in seconds. He could smell his bag apart instantly and he ripped it away from the O-ti'e. He frantically dug through it until he found his comm and scouter. The travellers caught up to him as he sighed with relief, but they were looking angry for the first time. The O-ti'e were long gone... with everyone else's bags.

" **See... ice?"** Vegeta said haltingly, pointing to the gouges in the ice that were definitely cleat marks of some sort. And they were leading off into the slick, gleaming, ice-iced forest like a trail of breadcrumbs." **We can follow."**

A firm hand grabbed his shoulder. **"No, Shi-o'yo'ki'kai'ma'nin'ma'te'ku'a'ma,"** said the leader, his red-rimmed eyes growing angrier and somehow even sadder, **"it's too** _ **kickin'."**_

Vegeta gave him a cool look that was slightly undermined by him having to cling to the leader's arm for balance. " **I'll follow and kill."**

 **"No. Too** _ **kickin'."**_ The hand on Vegeta's shoulder tightened its grip. **"The only food is in your bag, but we can get more that way, the other way. We go deeper into the woods."**

Vegeta willingly gave up and went along with the group once more, but that wasn't enough for him. **"Why am I here? With you? Do you know why? It's surprising."**

 **"We know you XXX to XXXXXX to the** _ **O'ko'mo'ko'na'to'i'ro,**_ **and then the** _**Ka'shi'ya'gi'ma'fu.**_ **And we XXX it as well. So come along with us."**

Vegeta brought up the rear in reluctant silence. And he kept a hand behind him on the spine of his dictionary.

The last picture in the book was a full page spread of the open ocean. If you held it in the right light and stared for a while, you would notice that there was a long line of short trees growing on the horizon. A new continent.

" _ **O'ko'mo'ko'na'to'i'ro,**_ **and then** _ **Ka'shi'ya'gi'ma'fu.**_ No, that isn't it," Vegeta muttered, eyes darting across the words. " _ **O'ko'mo'ko... na'to'i'ro. Ka'shi'ya'gi... ma'fu."**_ It almost looked like they were compound words.

" **Good. Yes. Two words."** The traveller across from him clacked his teeth enthusiastically, splitting imaginary words with his hands. " _ **O'ko'mo'ko**_ **is... hrrrr."** His eyes bulged even more and darted around, and he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. " **O'ko'mo'ko is... us, before finding Shi-o'yo'ki'kai'ma'nin'ma'te'ku'a'ma."**

"Nervous? Something like that?" Vegeta asked, forgetting. The traveller looked at him curiously before continuing.

" _ **Na'to'i'ro**_ **is... here. We are in forest** _ **na'to'i'ro.**_ **We found you in village** _ **na'to'i'ro.**_ **And all the** _ **na'to'i'ro**_ **together is** _ **Sy'yo'say."**_

 _Planet Sy'yo'say?_ " **I see. And** _ **Ka'shi'ya'gi?"**_

" **Water, lots of water, that goes along together. Now** _ **ma'fu, ma'fu**_ **is BIG."** The traveller crouched down and raised his arms above him in a peak. " **You can climb. Other ones, I mean. Not this** _ **ma'fu.**_ **Because it's off-limits, too** _ **o'no'e'yo'ko'mo'nu."**_

" **And that means?"** Vegeta said, getting irritated. This was a damn rabbit hole.

" **Not from here. From very far away. A different** _ **world.**_

" **Like me,"** Vegeta said. The traveller clacked his teeth. "The Uneasy Land and the... River of Heaven's Mountain," Vegeta said after some thought. " **But what are they?"  
**

" **You will know when we go there,"** said the traveller, pointing to the ocean view of the Uneasy Land. " **But** _ **no further."**_

*⁂*⁂*

It was nighttime and the candles and long speeches were brought out again.

" **Is it time?"** The leader asked.

Vegeta couldn't understand what was going on and he didn't try to. " **Not tonight."**

*⁂*⁂*

They all faced the great tree. Vegeta blinked lazily at the metallic black branches—were they branches or were they needles? He hadn't slept in two days... or maybe he was sleeping all the time. He could barely remember them packing up camp at the crack of dawn, and now here they were. In front of this great tree, thick enough at the base to house an entire colony of rat-people... or whatever.

There was reverence in the way the leader approached it. His guard was completely down. Well, that's what Vegeta was for.

All was clear on the treescape front. Vegeta made to turn back to the group and his heart almost leaped out of his chest when his comm went off. He stuffed it deeper into his travelling bag, had the sudden image of putting his hand over Freeza's face, and yanked it back out of the bag like he'd been burned.

"I'm taking another step forwards as we speak, definitely, I'll call you back." Vegeta hung up. The leader had already disappeared into the tree. They all waited in silence, with Vegeta on his guard. The cool breeze was perking him up. It wasn't long at all when the leader emerged from the tree and they were passing it by.

Bringing up the rear, Vegeta couldn't resist going inside when he saw the hole in the trunk. The entire tree was hollow and the orange afternoon sunlight filtered through the knotholes all the way up to the top. The entrance he stood on was a ledge at ground level, but the tree continued down in a pit about eight feet deep. Then it split off into several shadowy roots big enough to crawl through. An interesting place, but unquestionably empty. No wonder the leader had looked so disappointed.

Vegeta caught up with the group. When he turned around to take one last look at the tree, now far-off, for a second it looked like a giant skeletal woman contorting in the breeze... but he blinked and the image was gone.

*⁂*⁂*

Vrrr. Beebeebeep! Vrrrrrr. Beebeebeep! Vrrrrrrrr. Beebeebeep! Vrrrrrrrrr. Beebeebeep! _click_.

"Why do you always call just as I'm sitting down to eat?"

" _Freeza needs a progress report. Now. Don't hang up."_

"Did he tell you to say that?"

" _Does it matter? You know how he gets, you don't see him for days and then he's there standing with his hands behind his back, staring. Half the time he isn't even in front of a window, he's just facing a blank wall. And I know he's thinking about you. He's right here on this planet with you, Vegeta. It's making me so anxious I can't taste the mint. The mint!"_

"Oh no, that's terrible. Why would I _care,_ I'm in the other half right now! Freeza trusts me, and you being scared of him doesn't change that. You're interrupting my mission almost every day. Let me know if he gives a message, but otherwise get a hold of yourself and wait for _me_ to call _you._ **I have to practice** _ **gogen**_ **now."  
**

" _What? I didn't_ — _"_

 _Click._

" **That's done,"** Vegeta said to the traveller. " **Where were we?"**

 _That night, after causative form and present progressive passive form..._

" **Is it time?"** the leader asked. Vegeta looked up from watching the candles sway in the cold breeze.

" **Not tonight. Did you know we're being followed? I saw them, three times, a little while ago. But they don't come any closer."** Instantly the leader stomped out the fire and drew them all into the bushes.

" **Are they near?"** the leader whispered.

" **No, I don't smell anything. Why are we hiding?"** Vegeta whispered back. " **If they get here I'll kill them. They took our things so I want to make them sorry."**

" **They are strong like no one else. We must make sure they don't find us."**

That excited him. He had to reason with himself that if they were strong, they were going to catch up and he'd get to fight them. Fine. He'd play the game and stay in the bushes. He didn't want to split off from the group just yet, the feeling he had about them hadn't gone away...

He still couldn't sleep. Maybe it was the bushes. Sharp twigs and scratchy leaves dug into his back even through the sleeping bag. It was better that he didn't sleep, he was supposed to be keeping watch. In fact, he should make sure to stay awake. He'd go for a short walk, make sure no one was skulking in their own bushes nearby.

Vegeta didn't realize he had forgotten to loop around until he found himself back at the tree. How long had he been walking for?

The shadows were deep and his eyes burned. This felt surreal, like it was happening a long ways away to someone who had only a passing resemblance to him. Vegeta slipped into the hollow tree again. He looked up and saw the weak criss-crossings of moonlight through the knotholes. He looked down and saw the woman standing in the shadows of the tree's hollow.

 **"She'go'sa'ga?"** Vegeta asked. She was facing the wall and did not look up, did not move in any way. Vegeta's eyes refocused and she was gone—he was looking at his own shadow on the forest floor. He heard something behind him and turned.

Fifteen gnarled and hunched shadows surrounded him. The moonlight gleamed off the foot-long fangs bursting out their mouths, the curved knives they carried in each hand, and the spikes on their feet.

 _ **"O-ti'e,"**_ Vegeta said, grinning and stepping away from the tree. **"Still have the travelling bags? No? I'm very happy either way."**

The forest had been home to fifteen different nocturnal species. They left when a smooth round meteor that was made of neither stone nor metal fell from the sky, but quickly returned when it disappeared. But when a familiar group of people accompanied by something they'd never seen or smelled before set out into the woods and refused to leave, they had all headed for the canyons within a week. Now the only animals were those already dead and buried underfoot, turning the sea of trees into a cemetery covering acres and acres of land. Needless to say, nights had become cold, still, and very, very quiet.

Off in the distance, off to your right, the sound of an impact bursts so violently it could have been an explosion. Something slashes across the trees, sparks fly, and a long lick of flame pushes back the shadows. Shouts, metallic clangs, and wild laughter ricochets off the trees. The inertia of the forest covers this pocket of vitality, and you cannot see a single figure. The sounds move away from you, fade in the distance, and soon the forest of death has returned.

"Get back here, you cowards!" Vegeta yelled, frozen in place as the group of O-ti'e retreated across the ice. "Don't you show your back! **Don't!** " He made the mistake of leaning forwards and face-planted on the ice. He rolled onto his back and listened to the scrapes and snarls of the O-ti'e getting farther and farther away.

Back at the tree, Vegeta counted ten bodies. So five had gotten away. It wasn't ideal, but they would be back if they were worth anything. And one of the escapees looked like he was—he was bigger and gnarlier than the rest by far. He'd be back.

With a glance in the tree hollow (empty again), Vegeta gathered the bodies and made his way back to the camp. He'd been gone for hours but the sky was still pitch black. And when he finally crawled back into his sleeping bag in the bush he fell asleep in seconds.

Three hours later the group was ready to set out and Vegeta was bleary. At least he didn't have to try and explain where he'd been; the heap of O-ti'e locked together by their tusks spoke for itself. Rolling out of the sleeping bag he pointed to the pile and held up five fingers.

The travellers were all in a great mood. They made his breakfast for him and one of them took Vegeta up on his shoulders when it was time to set off. The rising sun and the gentle rocking of the travellers' pace set him dozing for most of the morning. But he woke at once when the walking stopped. Though it was probably the leader's desperate cry of **"She'go'sa'ga!"** that did it.

Something dark was hanging from the highest branches directly above them, swaying in the breeze. It was too high up to see anything. Perking up, Vegeta jumped to the ground and scrambled up the nearest tree. Halfway up, about fifty feet, he could smell them. And there they were at the top: eyes bulging, hair and faces white, no more fangs or spikes to be found.

 _ **"O-ti'e!"**_ Vegeta shouted down at the group. He wondered if this was the work of the girl from the tree... or She'go'sa'ga... or whoever. He left them hanging, it seemed like the right thing to do. And he wondered if he should mention that the biggest one wasn't hanging, was still out there. No... Vegeta didn't have the patience to try to communicate such a complicated thought, and he was the bodyguard so they didn't really _need_ to know...

Ten minutes later, like a slap in the face, the forest was stripped away and they were standing on the shores of an ocean... or a really big lake... or...

 **"What is it?"** Vegeta said loudly over the waves.

 _ **"I'tai'yo'kai'yo'um,"**_ said the leader. Vegeta nodded. That didn't clear up anything. _Whatever._

The group rummaged through their travelling bags. Someone unzipped Vegeta's and pulled something out. With each of them giving a single wood-like piece, soon they had put together a boat on the shore. Long poles had been fashioned from the nearby trees.

There were fish in the crystal clear water of the _i'tai'yo'kai'yo'um._ Well, white and purple strings of things knotted together that sort of swam through the water. The travellers were delighted to see them. They would brush their hands over the surface and shiver with happiness when the strands clung to their fingers. The wooden poles were getting weighed down with sticky white and purple. While everybody, even the leader, was bent over laughing into the water Vegeta saw someone standing on the beach they had launched from. It was the biggest _O-ti'e._ He dived in the water as soon as Vegeta caught his eye. Vegeta looked to the opposite shore and flinched. It was the shadowy figure from the night before, stark and exposed on the empty sand, but then she was gone again. As he turned back he heard a splash. There was nothing to be seen except for a ripple spreading out fifty feet away, like someone swimming had just ducked underwater.

Vegeta sighed and rested his head on the side of the boat. Looks like they were getting sandwiched. But it didn't feel like a fight was building. No point trying to start anything, he'd wait for them to make a move and in the meantime keep the travellers moving forwards as steadily as possible. When they were about halfway across the _i'tai'yo'kai'yo'um_ they passed an island with two giant lizards, one quadrupedal and one bipedal, attacking each other viciously. Vegeta stood up and raised his fists in preparation, but the travellers clapped and cheered like they were watching a concert. Even with all the noise, even passing within twenty feet of the island, the dinosaurs never looked at them. They made it across safely and continued onwards, over the bushy hills of the opposite shore.

*⁂*⁂*

" **... And we all are ready at any time to give** _ **Shi-O'yo'ki'kai'ma'nin'ma'te'ku'a'ma**_ **what you need from us."**

" **And since I came all the way from the Ka'shi'ya'gi'ma'fu... you light the lamps to show me the way to your villages?"**

" **Of course."**

" **Thanks. And yeah, I came from the Ka'shi'ya'gi'ma'fu, but I still need you to show me the way back."**

" _ **NO, Shi-O'yo'ki'kai'ma'nin'ma'te'ku'a'ma.**_ **It's** _ **shi'ni'ta'ri'ki'chi!**_ **No go, no go!"**

" **Right... we won't go all the way there. Obviously."**

" **Is it time?"**

" **Not tonight."**

*⁂*⁂*

Vrrr. _Beebee_ —

 _"Vegeta, we're all very upset."_

"Listen, I hope you know how impossible this job is. If all you're giving me is 'orange rocks', I'm not getting anywhere."

 _"... But...?"_

"... But, I keep hearing this word from the group of people I'm travelling with. 'The River of Heaven's Mountain' _ **.**_ It's some kind of forbidden place, that much I can figure out. There's something about it they can't communicate, something our language doesn't have words for."

 _"Vegeta, what do you expect me to tell Freeza? You obviously don't have a single lead."_

"What else am I supposed to do? You can't threaten people who know nothing in the first place. All Freeza cares about is the end result. All that's up in the air is how much time he'll wait for. And my companions say we'll reach the end of our journey in three months."

 _"To that heaven's mountain place?"_

"Well... when they said it's off limits, they meant it. They're planning on turning around right before we arrive. But I'll see how things are when we get there. See, they're searching for this girl who died a long time ago... at least that's what it sounds like sometimes, ha ha..."

 _"Good luck, Vegeta. Knowing Freeza,_ _three_ _months is a lot to ask."_

*⁂*⁂*

The next town they came to had every man, woman and child standing outside their doors, heads bowed, waiting for them. With the shadows of dusk drawing in, they reminded Vegeta of the girl in the tree. For the first time no one offered them a meal so they finished off the last of their supplies at a park in the center of town.

 **"Have to get more food,"** Vegeta said. The leader agreed, and the two of them visited a grocery store down the road. The store owner and her staff were standing in front of the doors.

 **"Give us some food, please,"** said the leader. Vegeta thought it was a little creepy how they wouldn't raise their heads, wouldn't look them in the eyes.

 **"Food, please,"** the leader pushed when they did not speak. **"We have money and we** — **"**

The store owner fell forwards onto the leader like there were hinges on the bottoms of her feet, Vegeta yelled and pushed in front of the leader, bracing for impact.

He felt nothing as the store owner fell right through him and disappeared into the road. Vegeta sprang forwards to punch the nearest store clerk. His fist went right through them.

The leader shot up from the ground as if electrified. _**"SHE'GO'SA'GA!**_ **She's here,** _ **she's here!"**_

Upon hearing their leader, the rest of the travellers ran to join and help his search. Meanwhile, Vegeta was trying to find someone to fight. They would dissolve under his hands like steam and reform the instant he stepped back. And you better believe he tried _everyone_ in the town.

The travellers and Vegeta tore through the town on their separate missions until it was dark and the shadow people stopped coming back. They all had to stop, burnt out, and admit this town was a dead end.

 **'What are they?"** Vegeta asked, trying to blink the red haze of anger out of his vision.

 **"They're dead people,"** said the leader, voice tight with disappointment and longing. **"Like She'go'sa'ga."**

Vegeta couldn't say "that's impossible." He didn't know how. **"I couldn't touch them."**

That seemed to break the leader out of his own thoughts. **"You couldn't touch?"**

 **"No, could you?"**

 **"Of course not. It's** _ **ream.**_ **"**

 **"** _ **Ream?**_ **"**

 **"** _ **Ream.**_ **Something that no one can do, that cannot happen."**

 **"I see. In that case, it's** _ **ream**_ **that they're dead."**

It took Vegeta a moment to see in the darkness the cold stare the leader was giving him. **"Don't say that. Let's keep moving."**

*⁂*⁂*

After five more days of travelling, the hills flattened out and turned to an expanse of bronze plains. That night, in the candle circle, Vegeta payed attention for the first time to what they were actually saying.

One of them talked about his old job as a council member in charge of harmful drilling operations in his hometown. Then one day a huge sinkhole opened up in front of him, big enough to swallow a spaceship. **"May Sy'yo'say forgive me and may I never meet with its stomach again,"** he said, and blew out his candle.

One of them talked about his grandmother whose face had been falling out piece by piece due to an illness and who had recently died because of it. On her deathbed, as she reached for his hand, he couldn't recognize her and pulled away in disgust. **"May I meet her in the Ka'shi'ya'gi'ma'fu so we can talk again,"** he said, and blew out his candle.

One of them talked about his parents' home, a priceless heritage relic that he had recently burned down as part of a fit of rage. **"May they forgive me and be waiting when I return,"** he said, and blew out his candle.

One of them talked about the ouk sticks he had been smoking every hour on the hour to stop from getting migraines. **"May ouk release me and let me go home to those I love,"** he said, and blew out his candle.

Everyone sat up when Vegeta, for the first time, leaned forwards and began to speak. **"... Back home,** Freeza's **waiting for me to find these orange rocks. And he's holding** Nappa **and** Raditz **more tightly every day. Every day I don't find them, the rocks. So may I do the impossible and may the three of us get back to work very, very soon."** Vegeta blew out his candle and turned to the leader, whose own candle was the last one burning.

 **"She'go'sa'ga is the love of my life. We've been together since we were nine years old. I took six months to study the** _ **O'ko'mo'ko'na'to'i'ro**_ **and the** _ **Ka'shi'ya'gi'ma'fu**_ **at the temple. When I got back she was with someone else. My mind left me and when I came to I was watching her slip into the forest as I held her empty body in my arms. May we meet one last time so I can ask her forgiveness and allow her final rest."** The leader blew out his candle, plunging them into darkness.

A moonbeam cut through the trees above them and streaked down to the middle of the circle where the shadow woman now stood. But the moonlight was so bright that she was starkly lit for the first time.

Her hair was the longest and blackest he had seen on this planet. Black enough to be Saiyan. Her familiar layered clothing was bone white and fluorescent under the moon. And her eyes... were quite calm as she scanned the circle of them.

But Vegeta's tail bristled as he recognized that look. It was a look that was waiting for him if he left Sy'yo'say empty-handed. And... as much as he didn't want to believe the ridiculous lore of these people, in his heart he knew.

She didn't want reconciliation. She wanted traditional Saiyan eye-for-an-eye revenge. She was in the moonlight, but the rest of them were hidden in shadows. She didn't know which one of them was the leader. Everyone except Vegeta was in danger... No, if she was like the others than he wouldn't be able to touch her...

He needed them safe, because he needed a guide to the Ka'shi'ya'gi'ma'fu _._ The leader was directly to his right. Vegeta pushed the leader into the moonbeam with She'go'sa'ga. Like the store owner, she tipped forwards into his open arms but this time he went down with her. They both disappeared into the ground. For a second Vegeta thought the moonlight had gone, but then he saw the black pit in the ground so deep it looked bottomless.

The five of them stood around the pit and nothing came out.


	34. Rapid

Chapter 34

The four travellers were extremely reluctant to forsake sleep and keep travelling, but Vegeta was the leader now. And the first order of business: get to the River of Heaven's Mountain. **"He got what he wanted, but your journey isn't over yet. Let's continue."**

As the days wore on, the grass on the plains became scarce and turned to a rocky desert. It got hot. Black layers were turned inside out to become white desertwear and they only travelled at night. The candle circles were gone and Vegeta's _gogen_ became so satisfactory that he didn't bother studying anymore.

In the middle of the seventh day in the desert, Vegeta woke up to the ground shaking and a deep _boom._ A huge tower had appeared right next to them. He could barely see anything through the spots in his eyes from the daylight... the travellers were panicking all around around him... he pushed himself off the ground and went over to this unexpected visitor. Squinting up into the sun he saw it was almost the exact size of the hollow tree, but it was made of stone. Vegeta rested a hand on the side and sharply drew it back—it was freezing cold. Hmmm... very telling.

 **"** _ **Shi-o'yo'ki'kai'ma'nin'ma'te'ku'a'ma! What is it?"**_

Vegeta shook his head in wonder. He'd never seen one with such a long shape... and the way it was buried in the ground... it was a spear. **"It fell from behind the sky. It's a... a..."** He didn't know the word. They didn't have a word. But _he_ did. **"It's an** _asteroid._ **Actually it used to be. Now..."** An asteroid stays in the void... **"Now it's a** _meteorite._ _ **"**_ Then Vegeta got an idea. **"Follow,"** he said, pulling on his gloves and hiking up his travelling bag. The rock face was smooth, but he gouged out handholds as he climbed. He twisted to look down and was pleased to see the travellers following him.

It was tiring work, especially in the hot sun. But the meteorite steamed and sizzled as the ice evaporated under the desert heat, and they were in the shadows as they climbed through a cool mist. Fifteen minutes later everyone was standing on the summit of the meteorite, a stone plateau about 250 square feet.

 **"Show me the Ka'shi'ya'gi'ma'fu** _ **,**_ **"** Vegeta said quietly in the still air. One of the travellers pointed to a green line on the horizon.

 _ **"**_ **Dama-ka'shi'ya'gi'ma'fu** _ **.**_ **The farthest anyone has travelled before."**

 **"We'll be there before dusk."**

 **"** _ **Shi-o'yo'ki'kai'ma'nin'ma'te'ku'a'ma,**_ **travelling here during the day is** — **"**

 **"Yes, but he's almost caught up,"** Vegeta said, pointing. A figure in a white robe was approaching the tower. It reached the base and started to climb up their footholds. **"It's finally time. You all better jump off, wait for me at the bottom."** Vegeta ushered the travellers down the opposite side. Then he pulled his armor out of his travelling bag, got suited up, and waited.

The grunting and growling and scraping and shuffling got louder and louder, and then the last O-ti'e pulled himself over the ledge. And he was _big._ As big as three Nappas. Vegeta had never seen him up close in daylight. He was covered in warts and gristle. His layers were brown and ragged. Each of his tusks was as long as Vegeta was tall, hair included.

 **"You really want to steal our gear, huh,"** Vegeta said, getting to his feet.

 **"Your** _ **gogen**_ **has gotten better,"** the O-ti'e grunted. **"I haven't followed you all this time to steal. I know you aren't** _ **o'yo'ki'kai'ma'nin'ma'te'ku'a'ma.**_ **"**

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. **"Of course I am, what are you talking about?"**

 **"Don't. I suspected since I had one good look at your strange clothes, and now I know the truth."** The O-ti'e leaned over the ledge and yelled to the travellers, almost at the base of the spear. **"Hey** _ **ki'ji'tsu'ya'e!**_ **Your friend here isn't who you think he his! What are those clothes?! Where are the layers?!"**

 **"He comes from the Ka'shi'ya'gi'ma'fu!** **They must wear unfamiliar things there!"** cried a small voice from very far below.

 **"What about the** _ **gogen**_ **you've spent hours a day teaching him? Have you heard the sounds he makes to himself? How can he come from the River of Heaven's Mountain if he doesn't feel like Sy'yo'say?"**

Vegeta shouldn't have been replacing "O'yo'ki'kai'ma'nin'ma'te'ku'a'ma" with "Saiyan." Shouldn't have been carelessly masquerading as a being he knew nothing about. But it was true... he wasn't from here and wasn't going to let his goals be impeded any longer. He crept up behind the O-ti'e and did what he did best: started a fight.

The O-ti'e didn't go down easy, and Vegeta wasn't expecting him to. But what caught him off guard was how _confident_ he was, even after Vegeta had spilled his blood across the meteorite's summit.

 **"You really... aren't from here..."** the O-ti'e rasped, wiping his mouth. **"No one has done so well against me, even in this weaker** _ **chi'kata'kata**_ **."**

 **"** _ **Chi'kata'kata?**_ **"** Vegeta asked impishly, hands on his hips. **"Now what could that mean?"**

The O-ti'e crouched low and bristled his fur. **"It means... rrrrh... that I'm... arrrrrhh... gonna change... ahrrRRRH...!"** He was doubled over, shaking. For a second Vegeta felt unsteady on his feet, like the meteorite was swaying beneath him. An unearthly glow surrounded the O-ti'e that made Vegeta's eyes start to water. Was that... _chi?_ it had been so long that he...

Seconds were passing and the O-ti'e was still locked in his pose of pain, bellowing. Vegeta pulled out his scouter for the first time in months and turned it on.

 _12,000._ His heart leaped. The O-ti'e was _strong._ And him, and him?!

 _N/A._ Blasted machine, he wanted to know his own power level! Well if some random Sy'yo'say bandit was all he got...

 _12,500_

 _12,000_

 _11,500_

 _11,000, 10,000, 9,000_

By the time the O-ti'e straightened up as a smaller, softer, _weaker_ version of himself the scouter had settled on its final reading: _7,359._ The number faded with the O-ti'e's glow.

The O-ti'e growled and got ready to pounce... until he caught sight of his tiny, hairless hands. **"I... went the wrong way..."**

Vegeta had to throw back his head and laugh. **"You absolute** _fool,_ **what did you do to yourself?!"**

Falling limply off the summit with a broken back, all the O-ti'e could do was cry **"I was already** _ **chi'kata'kata!**_ **"** He fell at the feet of the travellers that were waiting for Vegeta.

Vegeta put his battle jacket back in the travelling bag and jumped down. **"Hey, how come you guys haven't finished him..."** he trailed off when he saw them huddled around the O-ti'e, listening to what he had to say.

 **"... And what** _ **o'yo'ki'kai'ma'nin'ma'te'ku'a'ma**_ **isn't able to touch the** _ **ra'ryo'to'go'on'su'yu?**_ **He isn't like them, he's a** _ **yu'ma'tsu'ba'no'ni'se'mo.**_ **"**

 **"What, an** _imposter?_ **"** Vegeta said, amused. **"Does it really matter who I am?"** He stomped the O-ti'e's head to tie up loose ends. But the travellers weren't happy. They were backing away from him, no, they were running away full force.

That was his cue. Vegeta broke off a couple chunks of the meteorite and threw them at the fleeing travellers as hard as he could. Two of them went down and didn't get up. **"STOP!"** The surviving two slowed their pace and turned around, Vegeta was right there. He clamped a hand on their shoulders firmly. **"It doesn't matter who I am, you're taking me to the Uneasy Land. Now** _ **move."**_

The mood of the journey was really grim now, and Vegeta was out of patience for slow trekking. He was keenly aware that every day that passed could be the day he ran out of time. And they were running out of food in this desert: only ten days left, if they rationed.

Four days later they reached the end of the continent: a barren rocky cliff with inky black water that ripped and sucked at the cliff face like it was starving. A few thousand feet across the water was a line of trees that were shorter and thicker than the forest.

 **"That is the** _ **O'ko'mo'ko'na'to'i'ro**_ **,"** said one of the travellers. **"The waters are too violent. We would have had to get a plane from that town we passed a** **month** **ago."**

 **"Too violent? Are you sure?"** Vegeta swung him around until he was dangling off the cliff's edge, twenty-five feet above the water. The traveller instantly started screaming and begging and trying his hardest to scramble up Vegeta's arm to safety. **"Not lying, then. You should have told me before if we really needed a plane, you weasel. Hmm... it's a little too far to jump... that doesn't matter."** Without another word Vegeta grabbed the two travellers and ran them back to the meteorite in six hours. While they were rubbing their shoulders and moaning in agony, Vegeta got his arms around the base, now blazing hot from baking in the desert, and ripped the giant spear out of the ground.

 **"Get on,"** Vegeta ordered, hiking up the three-hundred-foot-long space rock onto his shoulder. **"Get on and hold tight."**

Eight hours later and a little winded, Vegeta faced the Uneasy Land with his guides atop the giant rock and took aim.

His shoulders burned as he heaved it into the air, but it was climbing through the sky and picking up speed. Before it was halfway across Vegeta took a running jump and landed next to the two screaming travellers. They landed cleanly on the shores of the Uneasy Land with another earth-shaking _boom._

 **"Shut up and lead the way."** Vegeta didn't noticed each traveller give one last, longing, tear-stained look to the far shore before they shuffled into the thick jungle.

After who knows how many days, they were hiking well into the afternoon when Vegeta came across a peculiar river. It was ink-black like the wild sea from before, but with no ripples. Even on the ground's incline, its surface stayed smooth and glassy.

 **"Is it... the Ka'shi'ya'gi'ma'fu?"** Vegeta asked, pausing by its bank. **"And is that actual water? It looks so still..."**

 **"It's the river from the Ka'shi'ya'gi'ma'fu,"** said one of the travellers. **"Lean in and you will see."**

Something promising, _at last._ **"Don't mind if I** — **"**

The second Vegeta leaned in the traveller pushed him in the back, hard. It was humiliating, but he actually lost his balance. His hands shot out in front of him and his tail shot out behind him. Vegeta pulled himself up by an exposed root with his tail, looking at his hand in shock. Half the fingers on his left hand, which had touched the water, were gone. Blood and pain welled up together.

 **"You** _tricked_ **me..."** Vegeta said faintly, turning. **"You tried to kill me, you** _BASTARD!"_ He pushed the traveller into the river, who was gone in an instant. Ripping a layer off the stunned other traveller, Vegeta wrapped his mutilated hand tightly with his right hand and his teeth as a crazy theory started to form in his head.

 _ **"Shi-o'yo'ki...**_ **whoever you are, I'll lead you all the way to the true** _ **Ka'shi'ya'gi'ma'fu**_ **if you just let me** — **"** Vegeta ignored the last surviving traveller, grabbed him by the arm, and threw him in the river. He never would have seen it if he hadn't thought to look. Even so, he almost missed it. But for the shortest millisecond, the traveller's body flashed around the downstream bend. Relief washed over him. Then he looked at the blood soaked bandaged and felt sick. He tied the three travelling bags together with difficulty and followed the river upstream.

That night, vrrr. Beebeebe— _click._

"Ronji? What is it?" He had been on Sy'yo'say for so long that words in Universal felt strange on his tongue.

" _Freeza says you're out of time. He says if you don't call us with the rocks in an hour, he'll_ — _"_

"Tell him that I can't get to the rocks yet because they're _too far away._ I can't fly on this planet, we all have to be patient. Tell him I'm the same person I was in the rebellion, so I'd appreciate it if he didn't _threaten_ me."

" _Vegeta, he's right next_ — _"_

 _Click._

Two days later, with only one bag to him, Vegeta reached the opposite coast. The sea was even more violent here, crashing against the cliff face in a demented rage. Some way out to sea, Vegeta saw a lone plateau. Farther on, the ocean's surface warped and swelled upwards into a gigantic black mountain. Barely visible, a stream of black water arced out of the mountain peak and disappeared behind the plateau.

Vegeta took a breath. He still couldn't fly and he knew what the black water was capable of. But the big picture was becoming more and more clear. He was on the right track.

"I'm on the right track," he said aloud. Pretty weak last words, so he couldn't die now. He got a running start and jumped out over the black.

After five seconds of breathtaking anxiety, Vegeta landed on the plateau. Close up, he saw that the stream of water coming from the mountaintop flowed through a tunnel that had been eroded into the plateau at sea level. Well, it was probably flowing, but it too looked completely still. The glassy river looked back at him. A ringing started deep in his travelling bag. He pulled out his comm and, seeing the number, answered it.

"Raditz. What is it?"

 _"Where are you? Everyone's been saying you're on a mission but there's no missions_ left. _Me and Nappa and everyone else have been hanging around_ _65_ _for like a_ _year_ _."_

"So you're both okay."

 _"Of course not, we haven't had a fight! And Lord Freeza's been shut in his rooms all day every day. Vegeta, what's going on?"_

Vegeta sat down on the ledge, not taking his eyes off the curve of Heaven's Mountain. "I'm on this planet called Sy'yo'say on Freeza's orders. Ronji thinks there's this form of H'yai fuel here that he calls 'Tto H'yai.' It's about a hundred times more potent, he says. And Freeza wants it so the whole Force can make the 150 year trip to the second half in a few months."

 _"No way..."_

"I was sure he'd have killed you and Nappa already because of how long it's been. Oh well, it's a big job to search an entire planet for something no one has heard of. But that's about to change. Tell Freeza or Ronji or whoever that I'm _close._ It's an all or nothing game, but today's the day."

 _"Wow. And if we go over to the second half..."_

"... We'll be fighting more than ever. There should be planets that are days, _hours_ apart!"

 _"Wow, wow, wow, Vegeta. And... you said it's all or nothing?"_

"That's right." Vegeta got to his feet. "... This could end badly for me."

 _"You wanna tell me the details so I can pass them along if you don't make it?"_

"No," Vegeta said, heart pounding but happy. "This one's mine. And if Freeza asks, better pretend you didn't think to ask me."

 _"Oh, good thinking. Okay. I'll let you get to it. G_ — _good luck and... thanks. We love you, Vegeta."_

"Uh... yeah. See you later."

 _"Bye..."_ Raditz sniffed.

Enough stalling. Vegeta kicked off his boots and left them on the ground next to his comm and travelling bag. This enemy had no face, but it was still an enemy. And if there was one thing Vegeta knew how to do, it was how to put up a good fight.

The pristine waterfall roared ahead. There would be no time to think. If he survived first contact... he'd go from there. Now or never.

*⁂*⁂*

Even Vegeta didn't know how fast he could run. He never bothered to go all out—he travelled by flying. The secret came out quietly: Vegeta could run on the River of Heaven's Mountain, the fastest stream of water in the galaxy. Something only eight others in the Freeza Force could do. Something on the level of freaks handed the strongest and fastest bodies at birth, not of anyone who built their strength through training.

Vegeta ran up the stream of water until he was high in the sky. It fed into the tip of a giant undersea mountain visible from space. No land in sight, just currents of water moving fast enough to break bones and rip off heads. He knew first hand. First "hand."

Heaven's Mountain loomed over Vegeta, whose legs ached and were moving too fast for even him to see. Now his brain had to move. He could only guess, and if a single guess was wrong he was dead.

The mountain was a hollow volcano with the water streaming out the vent. The water was supercharged by the Tto H'yai rocks that lined the inside of the passage. He needed to get there without touching the water. He couldn't use his _chi_ to blow it away.

Instantly Vegeta was in midair above Heaven's Mountain. He blew out all the air in his lungs with as much force of will as he ran up the stream. Like a miracle, the waters parted near the peak of the mountain and he shot towards the exposed black rock. Then there was an impact.

Vegeta burst through the other side, broken nose, broken ribs, broken arm, covered in cuts from the mist alone and clinging on to three glowing orange rocks that were each as big as him and at least twice as heavy. He blacked out over the open ocean before he could even think about what would happen once he fell in the water.

Ten seconds and thousands of miles later, Vegeta washed up on the shores of the _i'tai'yo'kai'yo'um,_ still clinging tightly to his hard-gotten treasure. He was in a coma. He didn't wake for days.

Now for the hard part. Dragging the Tto H'yai with his broken bones, hoping against hope that no more O-ti'e showed up. He was ambushed three times on his way back. Each time he saw Freeza, realized how very close he was, how his instincts had been _right,_ and he blew them away. And three months later, he was back in the town he'd started in.

Oh, it was tempting to knock on that hospital's doors and let them take him in again. But he was finished with the people of Sy'yo'say. He waited for night to fall, stole into the temple, and rolled his ship into the woods.

The going was easier now that he could keep the Tto H'yai in his ship. Somehow his bones were on the mend. And he was a lot more well-fed when he remembered he could just eat the locals. Soon he was strong enough to travel as the crow flies, down main streets, through houses. He didn't try to wipe out the towns that resisted. He told Raditz to say he'd have it that same day, months ago. Every day was precious. Every day could be the day Freeza lost his patience. Killed Nappa and Raditz, maybe even Ronji. Left him to rot on this planet of failure. He pressed on.

Vrrr. Bee— _click!_

 _"Vegeta?!"_

"Is everything all right?"

 _"V_ — _Vegeta, please tell me you_ — _"_ _"Mr. Vegeta."_

"... Lord Freeza. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

 _"Have you done it?"_

"Yes. I have everything here, I just need Ronji's help—"

 _"It's me again. Whew, he's gone. I hate it when he gets like that. This whole planet's been dead under a pile of leaves for months. But you found it, right? Let's get this over with and save the day. Just give me ten minutes..."_

They actually started work immediately, because Freeza wasn't willing to grant Ronji time to make a drink. Vegeta thought he had a level of understanding of machines, but Ronji's instructions lost him after the first two steps. He could only explain every single detail and hope Ronji was visualizing what was happening on his end.

Since he didn't understand, wasn't looking ahead, the implications of what Vegeta was doing snuck up on him. It was only when he was staring at those three large H'yai rocks wired into the seat of his ship that he got a bad feeling.

"Hey Ronji... there isn't any room left for me..."

 _"Oh, really?"_ Vegeta was half expecting Ronji to put him on hold to consult with Freeza, but of course he didn't. He was the scientist; he knew how much fuel they needed. _"Other than that, is everything ready?"_

"Yeah."

 _"Then do it."_

"..." Vegeta clutched his remote control in sweaty hands. His legs didn't want to move. He couldn't breathe. "D... don't let him..." After toppling the rebels, becoming the star of the Galajū, and getting the honor of pulling the Freeza Force to a new level... after all that... Vegeta found himself alone with no options. Weak. Vulnerable. His own fate in far-off hands. "Uh, it's supposed to get to 65 in a week, right?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

 _"Yes. You okay, Vegeta?"_

"Tell Freeza it's on its way." Vegeta hung up his comm, slammed the pod's door shut, closed his eyes, and hit a button on his remote.

When Vegeta opened his eyes he was left alone with nothing but a few useless tools he didn't know what to do with, a scouter that couldn't read power levels, the remote control for a spaceship long out of range, a comm that needed that spaceship's satellite to function, the clothes on his back, and the blind faith that the galaxy wouldn't forget him and all he'd done for it.

But then, playing with his scouter and finding a setting he hadn't used before, Vegeta remembered that he had never been alone on this planet.

Three months later

(day 596)

The planet that Nappa and Raditz landed on was dead. They knew even before their _chi_ ebbed away. The smell in the air, the color of the sunlight, the sound of the wind in the trees... their instincts told them to turn around, there was no point being on a planet that had already been processed. And yet wherever they looked, shadowy figures in black and white layers stood silently among the trees.

With his comm a beacon once it latched on to their ships' signals, it took them three hours to find Vegeta. He was lying spread-eagled in the middle of a field under the blistering mid-afternoon Sy'yo'say summer sun. He woke when Nappa stepped forwards to shake him. The three Saiyans faced each other for a moment. Vegeta had grown inches, but so had Raditz. Now Raditz reached Nappa's chest and Vegeta was a little under Nappa's waist.

"Did Freeza send you?" Vegeta broke the silence.

"No, we came here with his permission."

"Of course you did."

"Uh, Vegeta? What are those..."

"Don't look at them, they're harmless. They can't touch you. Let's go."

On the way back to the ships, Vegeta learned that every single member of the Force now had their own scouter, a new armor style with large shoulder pads had come into fashion after the move, and eleven Freeza planets had been established since they had moved to the second half.

"But we've been gone for ten days," said Raditz, "So I bet a few more have popped up since then."

"Are the missions any different?"

"We've just been training and settling down. They still hadn't handed out the first mission when we left to get you."

"Handed out?"

"Lord Freeza's changing the system now that we have this fresh start. It's a lot less casual. Every mission has to be assigned or requested then approved first. Lord Freeza hasn't shown his face since we landed."

And then they had reached the ships: two for Raditz and Nappa, and the empty one they had towed with them.

"Both of you go into orbit without me, I have one last piece of business with this planet," Vegeta said. Nappa and Raditz sighed at their first Vegeta-order in over a year.

Having fun with the locals had made Vegeta feel much better. He had barely spared a thought to his fate over the past month. Instead, he meditated on an interesting problem.

A problem that he had solved earlier that day.

The ground began to tremble as Vegeta looked to the sky. His fists clenched and unclenched tightly and perspiration dripped down his hot forehead. Slowly, he rose off the ground. With the greatest effort he started to glow as his dormant _chi_ finally surfaced. He wasn't aware of the specifics, but he simply didn't believe this planet could hold back the power he had grown over the past year. Specifically, a power of 13,300.

Just above the atmosphere with Vegeta's ship, Nappa and Raditz watched in confusion. Not only was he using his _chi,_ it looked like he might...

"Has a Saiyan ever...?" Raditz said in a mesmerized whisper.

"Yeah, but long before my time," Nappa murmured. "This is history in the making. Right before our eyes." The purple light swelled until it blotted out both Vegeta and the planet's surface. The entire planet held its breath as the ball of _chi_ stilled. Then Vegeta released in unto the world already bled-dry below.

Nappa and Raditz expected Vegeta to join them once the dust cleared, not drop out of the air like a stone.

Underneath two feet of ash, Sy'yo'say still had hard ground to land a spaceship on. Nappa dragged an unconscious Vegeta into his ship thoughtfully.

 _"He pushed himself too much,"_ tsked Raditz over the ship's comm. _"Not like him at all."_

"To think he had enough _chi_ to do something like that..." Nappa had never thought to wonder if Vegeta would grow so powerful. And he was... he must be sixteen by now. At this rate, someday, he might reach Zarbon and Dodoria's level... might even get a right-hand spot under Lord Freeza himself. That was more than good enough. "Raditz, let's get him back now. The prince has returned."


	35. Back in School

Chapter 35

It certainly wasn't unusual for soldiers to be away on missions for more than a year, but stepping foot on Planet Freeza 14 Vegeta felt like he'd grown old, died, reincarnated and grown up again in the time he'd been away. Military buildings covered the entire planet, only gray and purple glass with no plants to be found. Species he had never seen before filled the halls. His next-gen scouter flashed distractingly in front of his eye with dozens of new readings.

"Press this button to turn that off," Raditz said.

"Thanks."

"And this is how you call people. It has a built-in comm."

"Okay."

"And here's how you can tune into local TV and radio."

"Okay."

"Here's the clock, the timer, the weather forecast, and the altitude."

"Okay."

"And the—"

Nappa showed him to his new room. It was a little bigger than 65's, but completely bare. Wordlessly Nappa handed him a bag with his Saiyan rings and the packet of instant ramen, which he had salvaged from Vegeta's ship when it came back with the Tto H'yai rocks months ago. "Well, it's good to be back," Vegeta said before fainting again.

*⁂*⁂*

"Why didn't you idiots call me when they got here?! At least write down the time and date when they landed—it's the new policy, remember?" Zarbon was shouting at one of the only control workers left over from the first half while Vegeta floated, unconscious, in a healing tank in the background. "You're lucky Lord Freeza kept you as it stands."

"Sorry, Lord Zarbon," the worker bowed miserably. "Nappa and Raditz were the ones who left without signing out. We didn't know they were gone, we weren't expecting them back."

" _Honestly_. All you old workers have to pull your weight more. I know it seems pretty empty around here, it's no secret that recruiting has been going a little slow, but any day now this place is going to be _flooded_ with new people and you have to be able to show them how it's done! I'm not working my fingers to the bone all day every day with Dodoria on getting new soldiers just to have Lord Freeza kill them off when they don't know how deep to bow!"

"Yes, Lord Zarbon. Good thing we have the hero of the Freeza Force back," the worker nodded to the sixteen-year-old Vegeta in the tank. "He'll be useful as always, I'm sure."

"Yes." Zarbon's eyes were gleaming. "I know just what to do with him. Now you, get out and do some spot-sweeping in building 9–C."

*⁂*⁂*

So much for happy reunions. Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz mopped the floors together. All the other soldiers were attending to similar duties of their own across the planet. Vegeta was able to hold a mop now that his fingers had been regenerated in the tank, but he wasn't happy. "I thought I'd have the same rank as Zarbon when I got back," he muttered, wringing dirty water out of his tail. "I've done enough."

"You're still working for Zarbon?" asked Nappa.

"You think I'd be doing this if I was with Freeza?" Vegeta snapped. " _Zarbon._ Last I saw of him he was tied up with his own veins. Like a mouse in a trap _._ And I _saved_ him from that."

"At least you got a raise," Raditz said helpfully.

"Yeah, a thousand more Uni every mission. Great. He said it would be a month before I can even start doing missions again."

"Same as everybody else," Nappa said, scrubbing angrily at a bloodstain on the floor. "There's been so much maintenance work we can barely train _,_ too. When is Lord Freeza going to get some proper janitors?" The three Saiyans worked in silence until they finished the hallway, then collapsed on the last dry spot to rest.

"That's the first time I've mopped since Ren," said Vegeta.

"You're probably stronger than him by now," said Nappa. "What was he again?"

"10,000 when I knew him," said Vegeta, perking up a bit. "I wonder how much stronger he got. He must have died in the rebellion."

"So you went to the Galajūichi Budōkai," burst out Raditz, not able to wait any longer. "How was it? Was there anyone stronger than you? When can we go together?"

"Uh... let's not go back there. It isn't that great," Vegeta said, fiddling with the settings on his scouter. "All of the buildings are falling down, they don't take care of the place. No one's strong enough."

"Really? That _sucks,"_ Raditz sighed. He pulled out a roll of something and was just about to light up when Nappa sent him outside.

"Trust me," said Nappa to Vegeta, "you don't want to breathe any of that junk he's smoking. And he says he just wants to fit in with this half of the galaxy... it's a waste of time."

"Nappa," said Vegeta, not listening. "Don't call Freeza 'lord' anymore. And tell Raditz when he gets back."

"Wh—what? Are you saying... are you saying we should—"

"You don't have to _do_ anything. Just learn how to say ' _Freeza._ ' "

"It's against the rules. They could kill us for it."

"Say whatever to his face. But I don't want any of us doing it anymore when we're talking to each other. It doesn't feel right."

Nappa got a look in his eyes as he thought about something he didn't know he was allowed to think about. "No, I guess it doesn't. Okay. I'll let Raditz know."

Raditz got back just before the action started.

"CLEAR THE STAGE AND MAKE WAY FOR THE GINYU FORCE!" The double doors leading out to the main landing pad flew open and the hallway, suddenly lined with soldiers (all fifty soldiers on the planet), burst into applause. Five figures broke into a run down the hall that the three Saiyans had just mopped clean.

The first one, a chubby, stubby, four-eyed frog-rat, slipped on the wet floor. He was about to fall on his butt when... he didn't. He flashed away and then continued his panting jog.

The petite second with red skin and voluminous white hair, the towering third blue snake, and the fourth with a droopy sprig of a mohawk and a creepy face all slid across the floor as well. But they had pizzazz. They skated through the tunnel of cheering people, weaving in and out of each other's path like fish in the sea. And suddenly the waters parted for the purple one with horns like Freeza and some of his brain on the outside.

"Say hello to Freeza Planets 15–19!" proclaimed Captain Ginyu with a joyful pirouette. His four men behind him drew a flourish of paperwork. "More importantly, it's the man of the hour, no, the day, _no,_ the year—"

"—The man of the universe!" Jheese chimed in.

 _ **"Lord Freeza!"**_

But the noise died out as Freeza floated in on his hoverpod, obviously calling for a different tone. Vegeta would have wondered why such clowns were let aboard if they hadn't just claimed ownership over five planets. Five since Nappa and Raditz had left a few weeks ago... work that should have taken months or even years.

Vegeta's grip tightened around his mop handle as he made eye-contact with each Ginyu, and then Freeza...

"Excuse the lowly combatants and their _mess_ , Masters Freeza and Ginyu." Vegeta would have moved away from that slimy voice if he hadn't just been pulled to the ground by his tail. _Too strong._

Kiwi wiped the water up with Vegeta's tail. Vegeta's face burned in a familiar—but somehow _nostalgic_ —way. Why was Kiwi still alive? The Freeza Force couldn't call itself cutthroat if it let trash live. Kiwi followed Freeza like he was bringing up the caboose of the group. Vegeta waited until everyone ahead had rounded a corner, then he snatched Kiwi out of the line.

"What did you just do to my tail, you piece of trash?! Get on your knees and say you're sorry!" Vegeta tried to force Kiwi down but he didn't budge an inch. Damn it. Why didn't Kiwi break when he pushed with all his strength?

"Out of my face, monkey," Kiwi snarled, locking horns with Vegeta right back. "I'm not a footsoldier anymore, I'm the new Director Of Universally Coded Handout Electronics! You're the one who should apologize for not even cleaning the floor right! And it's _Lord Kiwi_ now!"

"Lord?!" Vegeta ducked out of their stalemate and punched Kiwi in the face.

Raditz returned from his break to find the two of them black and blue rolling around on the floor. "Hey, stop!" He didn't even know which one of them he laid a hand on when he smashed into the wall with a broken collarbone. Nappa led Raditz, groaning, away while Vegeta and Kiwi continued the fight born out of frustration and pettiness instead of inspiration or hatred, the fight that neither could win.

*⁂*⁂*

A week after Vegeta landed on 14, he found himself doing laundry with Marone. Fifty thousand new soldiers had been arriving over the course of seven days and the only thing Zarbon hadn't thought of was getting some _blasted housekeepers and janitors._ Of course the new soldiers couldn't fill in, they had to go through some sort of initiation to get them used to life in the Freeza Force. And just when Vegeta thought it couldn't get any worse... on his way in between cleaning toilets and showers, Raditz sauntered in and proceeded to make out with Marone for _ten minutes,_ right next to Vegeta. If he closed his eyes, he could _almost_ picture himself in a dark cave with some slimy, gibbering monster that no one from the first half could even imagine. If only. He just had to fold clothes and tough it out.

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta had never seen Zarbon walking around with such a spring in his step. He was proud of himself for filling 14 almost to capacity, just under 1,000,000 people, over a matter of weeks. Vegeta's hopes soared as he got fewer cleaning jobs by the day, the new full-time cleaners taking his and the other Saiyans' place. Soon they had nothing to do all day except train. The next morning, they were called to the great room that Vegeta had swept but never seen used for anything. More than a thousand soldiers gathered, enough that Vegeta knew the entire population of their building had been summoned. Everybody was handed a booklet with the words **MANDATORY BY PUNISHMENT OF DEATH** on the cover. A huge drum was rolled to the far corner.

And then the chanting began, led by Zarbon and accompanied by a steady drumbeat, one beat per syllable.

 _Once—the—migh-ty—one—was—look-ing—o-ver—his—glor-i-ous—realm /_

 _He—saw—the—vast—ex-panse—of—dia-monds—in—black—vel-vet /_

 _He—saw—the—pla-ne-tar-y—fruits—ripe—for—the—pick-ing /_

 _He—saw—the—grains—of—rice—that—were—the—worms—and—mag-gots—wri-thing—in—the—cos-mic—plums—and—ap-ples—of—their—worlds /_

 _He—saw—his—faith-ful—ser-vants—lay-ing—down—their—lives—to—make—a—bridge—for—him—to—ride—a-cross—the—ga-la-xy—and—meet—us—all /_

 _He—takes—our—loved—ones—wives—and—chil-dren—so—they—do—not—dis-tract—us /_

 _He—takes—our—bo-dies—and—fa-shions—swords—gaunt-lets—and—shields—with—them /_

 _He—takes—our—minds—and—turns—them—on—to—his—glo-ry—filled—mis-sion—state-ment /_

 _We—are—the—faith-ful—ser-vants—of—the—stars—we—are—e-ver—lo-yal—to—our—ma-ster—the—ve-ner-a-ble—Lord—Free-za /_

 _May—he—look—u-pon—our—vi-sa-ges—with—the—pride—of—a—lea-der /_

 _May—he—grant_ _—_ _us—the—pri-vi-lege—to—serve—him—un-til—our—last—breath /_

 _May—we—ne-ver—for-get—our—de-vo-tion—to—him /_

 _May—the—strength—of—our—de-vo-tion—in-spire—o-thers—to—join /_

 _May—we—all—bask—in—the—sha-dow—of—his—un-pa-ra-lleled—strength—and—might /_

 _May—we—all—en-joy—pro-found—bril-li-ant—glo-ry_

There was a minute's pause as everyone caught their breath. Zarbon's eyes had been on Vegeta the whole time, so he had been forced to at least mouth the words. Not noticing the absolute misery Vegeta was in, Nappa and Raditz gestured at him to flip through the rest of the booklet.

" _There's ten more pages of this?!"_

*⁂*⁂*

The death toll files said that every single Minko they had met had died in the rebellion, including ones they never heard of like Cran Minko and Jun Minko. When Raditz suggested to Vegeta that they start their own conceptual storygroup in the second half, he agreed without thinking. As far as they knew, out of the pitifully small pool of soldiers that had emigrated from the first half, the three Saiyans were the only ones who had a decent grasp on what it took to talk about a fight conceptually. They went as far as to find a group of people willing to attend the first meeting, and Raditz even got some snacks together. But when Vegeta faced those ten unfamiliar faces, knowing the tenuous grasp that most of them had on Universal, as his mind filled with thoughts of veins, the cold, and fast fast water...

"Raditz, get them out of here." Vegeta addressed the older Saiyan who was innocently crunching on fried things in the corner.

"But—"

" _Raditz._ That's an order. Cancel this now." What was he doing? He'd been habitually dissecting his fights like this for years, and for what? He had to grow up. After Raditz, taken aback, had ushered all the disgruntled soldiers out the door Vegeta sat by himself for two hours. He didn't have a single thought. Then he went to bed and slept deeply.

*⁂*⁂*

One day Vegeta was told, not by Freeza but by Zarbon, to deliver a _gift basket on Freeza's behalf_ to the first officially-classified IGRIS planet of the second half. Vegeta was so shocked it took a moment before he could speak. "Why... am I... the one... who was asked... to do this?"

"Lord Freeza wants someone experienced to do it, it wouldn't send the message if we sent a green soldier," Zarbon said cheerfully, handing him a pretty box of chocolates and flowers and cards that said things like " _Congratulations on passing the sentience test! Now we know you have it in you!"_

"I don't think my current duties suggest to anyone that I'm a top soldier, _Lord Zarbon,"_ Vegeta said carefully.

"You're top in our hearts at least," Zarbon said, clapping Vegeta on the shoulder with a bright smile. "My! Have you noticed this place emptying out since we started handing out missions? I'm lucky I caught you while you're still here." He left Vegeta with the gift basket and a chip on his shoulder that had been deep-fried, dusted with flavor, dipped in sour cream, and then crushed to pieces.

Three days later, when Vegeta got back, he was welcomed by a control worker he'd never seen before shoving a stack of papers in his face. "Your mission debriefing," he said, looking as lifeless as Vegeta felt. "Mandatory for all returning soldiers regardless of rank, age, power level, or literacy."

"Are you _serious_?" Vegeta flipped through it. "'Name, size, population of planet?' 'Number of casualties?' 'Time taken?' This is for a standard mission, nothing to do with me. Surprise, it took me a whole ten minutes on the planet to _deliver one thing._ I'm not filling this out."

"It's mandatory for all returning soldiers regardless of rank, age, power level, or literacy," the control worker droned. "Failure to comply will result in a trial in front of Lords Zarbon and Dodoria for experienced soldiers, or immediate execution for new recruits."

Vegeta gritted his teeth, again, and took the papers. He wondered how many of the new recruits had been wasted before their first mission because of garbage like this.

And all this time, on an almost daily basis, he kept getting notices slipped under his door: _**Lord Kiwi has requested that you be transferred under his division. Please attend the regulatory hearing set for 03:00 PM today.**_ Vegeta never went, of course, even managed to ignore them until the fifth time in a row when enough was enough.

"What's your _problem?"_ Vegeta shouted at Kiwi in full view of everyone. Kiwi's desk was small and situated in the middle of the high-traffic hallway 49–F. "Why do you keep trying to make me your subordinate?"

Kiwi couldn't say anything, he just giggled like someone who really did have the brain of a fish. "You're the one with the problem, complaining about Lord Zarbon every day in the cafeteria," he got out at last, almost crying from laughing so hard. "I'm doing you a favor aren't I?"

Humiliated as he was, Vegeta wasn't giving the piece of slime any openings. He pressed a button on his scouter and cringed, as he did every time he looked at Kiwi's reading. "I've never met someone who didn't deserve his strength as much as you. What a _fish."_

Kiwi got up from his desk, smiling in a way that he thought was pretty menacing. "What are you trying to say, _monkey?"_

Vegeta gestured with a hand, already walking away briskly.

They barely made it to the closest training center before the fight began. And by the time it ended, both of them thoroughly scruffed and bloodied, it was all they could do to pick themselves up off the ground. It was a draw.

"We're going to do that every day, asshole," Vegeta growled, jabbing a finger into Kiwi's chest. "And _stop filing for a transfer."_

*⁂*⁂*

"This place has changed. They don't want us to go on missions," said Nappa, weary in the cafeteria after yet another day of miscellaneous planet-work.

"Yeah, they want to turn us into purse dogs like Kiwi," said Vegeta. "He's 'promoted' to a full-time job here on the planet. And he's _happy._ I don't know why someone like that's still as strong as I am."

"If you don't want him so strong, stop training with him," Nappa said, uninterested. "What's your power level?" He pressed a button on his scouter and breathed out. "13,500. You've been doin' pretty well for yourself, Vegeta."

"I just want to see who's out there. The second half. There has to be more than one good fighter who isn't under Freeza, the greedy lizard..." Vegeta said quietly into his soup. "If we don't get a mission after one month passes... well..." He pictured a course of action with a shiver. "I'll _make_ him give us something good."

"That's it!" Nappa slammed his hands on the table. "There's something I have to teach you. One of our techniques. You're the only one who's gotten strong enough to learn it, I almost forgot. If only Zarbon would let us leave the planet..."

"Don't worry," Vegeta said with a curious smile. "This sounds important, Nappa. If we need to be on a spare planet I'll talk to Zarbon right now. Tell me the details when I get back."

Vegeta had not gone to Zarbon. He'd slipped the control workers on duty 5,000 Uni and a one-time lease of his talents in exchange for letting them leave unreported. The nearest empty planet was half a day away.

"Tell me what this is about. Now," Vegeta said once they had landed on a steep cape overlooking a dried-up sea.

"I should have brought it up a long time ago, but we never really had a spare moment..."

"Just tell me, Nappa."

"Did you know... it's possible to make the Saiyan transformation without a full moon?"

Vegeta's eyes widened. "What? Explain. _Now."_

"You create a small power ball made out of the planet's atmosphere and your own _chi_ all mixed up together." Nappa held out his empty hand and stared at it longingly. "Us elite soldiers were the only ones who really knew about it, but even then a lot of us thought it was just another frustrating tease of the true potential of the Saiyan race."

"Like the legend of the Super Saiyan," Vegeta whispered.

"Yeah. I never knew anyone who could do it. But we all secretly hoped to master this technique."

"Is it hard?" Vegeta frowned suddenly. They were here on borrowed time. They couldn't stay for more than two days. And if Nappa had dangled such a tempting fruit in front of him only to _take it away..._

"I don't know. Maybe." Nappa closed his fist. "Probably not if you can figure out how to pull atmosphere into your _chi._ But the thing is, I'd die if I seriously tried. Only Saiyans with a power level over 7,000—in other words, the strongest of our race—can do it."

"Why?"

"Because it takes 7,000 points away. That's how much of yourself you need to put into this technique."

"I see." Now it was Vegeta's turn to gaze at his hand. "How long does it last?"

"About an hour."

"So you wouldn't want to do it unless you were at least 10,000," Vegeta said thoughtfully. "If you can't end the fight before it runs out, you need some power to spare." He closed one eye and focused some of his _chi_ to his outstretched hand. "But how in the world do you get _atmosphere...?"_ Was he supposed to sense it somehow? Impossible. But then again... a shrivelled up planet like this didn't have much going for it other than its atmosphere.

Vegeta didn't move from his spot, didn't blink. Nappa leaned down and thought he must have gone into a trance. None of them meditated as a rule; it was too risky to turn that much of your focus away from your immediate surroundings. Nappa suspected Vegeta wouldn't have started if one more person had been on this planet.

Three hours passed. Nappa was starving. He tried some of the dead plants and dust but there were no nutrients to be found. Stupid. Now his throat was parched on top of that. He jumped off the cliff and wandered around the dry ocean bed. Dug some holes. Pulled up crusty chunks of the earth. Nothing.

Just as Nappa was mulling over the position of the sun, a shiver went down his spine as something in the air rippled. He turned around.

Hundreds of feet away, a tiny pinpoint of light twinkled by the speck that was Vegeta. Five seconds later, Nappa was at his side. Vegeta was gasping for breath, beet-red, sweat dripping down his face and soaking his hair. His eyes were focused on the basketball-sized orb of _chi_ suspended over his violently shaking palm. They both stared at it. Nappa was transfixed by how dense it looked. There was definitely something in it besides _chi._ It was beautiful.

Suddenly Vegeta wound up and threw it far into the sky. It floated off in the distance for a moment as he stalled, hand outstretched. Then he clenched his hand into a fist and the _chi exploded,_ flooding the skyline with light all the way to the horizon.

When the blast faded, the orb of _chi_ remained in the sky. It had swelled to fifty times its previous size. "Y—you did it," Nappa said, grabbing Vegeta's shoulder. _"You did it!"_ That orb wasn't made out of _chi._ It was a moon. Nappa's heartbeat picked up and he couldn't look away. It had been a while since he last transformed.

The cliffside crumbled under the weight of the two giant monkeys. They sprawled on the rocky expanse of the ocean bed.

 **"We're ahead of schedule,"** the large one rumbled to the other. **"When did you wanna head back?"**

 **"I'm not making another one,"** the smaller one said in a deep growl. **"We're leaving as soon as this thing wears off."**

 **"So in the meantime, do you wanna...?"**

 **"Yeah. Let's tear this place up."**

*⁂*⁂*

The ocean floor, smooth and sloped from erosion, was now gouged with deep trenches and pits. On the last hill of undisturbed ground, Vegeta and Nappa lay exhausted.

"You should have told me about this years ago."

Nappa chuckled. "Yeah, this was great."

"No, I mean it." Vegeta rolled over to face him. "I had a right to know _and_ I was your superior."

 _You were a child._ Nappa watched Vegeta carefully, waiting for what came next.

"This doesn't count, for now..." Vegeta said to the dusky sky. "But pull another stunt like this and you're dead."

"That's a bold thing coming from someone who's missing over half his strength. If we fought now, for real, I'd win."

"You wouldn't kill me."

"..." Nappa sat up, his back to Vegeta. "We should get going."

They had been gone for thirty hours. Zarbon was nowhere to be found. Quietly, trying not to draw eyes, Vegeta and Nappa picked up their brushes and rags. They cleaned for more than a day straight. Early into the second night, they made eye contact as a familiar scent came into range.

"No one should have to spend more than ten hours washing walls," Nappa complained.

"It's your fault for taking that nap the other day. Now we have to play catch-up. Besides, _you should be happy to serve."_ Vegeta's back stiffened as he felt Zarbon walk past him. He paused and stepped between the two Saiyans.

Vegeta's heart raced as he sprayed his rag, feeling eyes on him.

"Don't forget to do the baseboards," Zarbon said, and moved on.

Vegeta and Nappa shared a triumphant grin. They had gone behind the backs of some very dangerous people and had come back clean. Now if only they could get a mission...

*⁂*⁂*

Exactly one month later, like clockwork, a sheet of paper was slipped under Vegeta's door in the wee hours of the morning. _**You have been summoned to the Briefing Room.**_

With a shot of adrenaline, Vegeta was too excited to do anything but dress and head straight there. He ran into Nappa and Raditz on the way.

"Not a moment too soon," Nappa muttered, yawning. Their day-to-day lives had been comprised of Zarbon treating them like dirt and none of the new recruits knowing who they were. Plus those demeaning chants in the morning and the afternoon. The hours spent in the training center had been the one thing keeping them sane. But with Kiwi being Kiwi, Vegeta could barely stand fighting him more than once a day... even though no one else was on his level. He thought about fighting Dodoria like Kiwi always bragged about doing himself... until he saw what that entailed: sitting on the floor while Dodoria bragged about all the missions he'd done and how strong he was. No fighting to be seen. Vegeta spent his extra time looking over the new language notes that were beginning to come in from the first few missions. Yeah, not a moment too soon.

Zarbon gave them the mission. He was the only one they saw anymore... Freeza was always off making new connections and trade routes. Vegeta wondered if he had found anyone stronger than him. Anyways, the mission looked alright. Common Power Level 625. Just under six months of travel time getting there.

Vegeta pulled on his armor for the first time in what seemed like forever. The first time since that endurance run on Kekken. He'd never taken _that_ set off. It had cracked, frozen, and shattered to pieces all on its own. This one was nice. The long shoulder pads made him stand up straighter.

He _itched_ to get back to his old life. Even doing chores, even standing by while others worked, he could feel the nervous energy hiding behind every corner in the Force. Finally both halves of the galaxy's eyes were on Freeza, on all of them. Maybe some thought those few travellers into the unknown were going to be shot down sooner or later. But every single member of the Freeza Force knew the dark magic that would carry them forward. And Vegeta wanted, _needed,_ to be at the front of it again.


	36. 1 in 10,000,000,000

Chapter 36

遭難と殺気

Vegeta woke up to the gentle rocking of his ship and the sounds of water sloshing outside. His _sleep_ timer always went off in orbit. A drop of water tapped his nose. His ship wasn't just airtight, it was spacetight. The console and controls were dead. Nothing was outside the window but blackness.

Vegeta's fingers dug into the armrest. _Underwater. Please._ With his scouter and souvenir packet of instant ramen in one hand, he wrenched the door open.

Viscous water that stung his eyes flooded the ship in an instant. Far, far below him was a faint glow. _Spaceship._ Vegeta hooked his foot under the doorframe and swam for the glow.

He broke through the surface. The cold air froze against his wet battlesuit. He quickly rose out of the water, his spaceship in tow. His spaceship that was half-crushed by a dent in its side. His scouter, waterproof of course, told him that Nappa and Raditz were nowhere to be found. It also told him it had been 36 days since they left Planet Freeza 14... far too soon. He pressed the comm button.

The scouter's small signal tried to connect to the amplifier dish in Vegeta's ship. Bouncing back empty-handed, it tuned in to some local radio waves as a consolation prize.

 _"_ — _Noon, morning, evening, or night. You're listening to R99's The Lynx. And now, it's another episode of the Kakoo, Kakoo, and Kye show!"_ A bouncy theme song played. _"Kakoo Jeen, what have you got for us this afternoon?"_

 _"Well, Kakoo Seing, truffle season is once again upon us so wake up your dogs and dust off your family recipe cards! It's time to get digging! In other news, Mr. Jeeji Kso wants to let us know that the next time we play 'Lost My Heart in the Wild Wild Grass' he's leaving us for S88's the Fox."_

 _"Great, we don't need his misery hanging over Matchi any longer."_

 _"Kidding, Jeej! I mean, as long as you are. Please stay with us. Please."_

 _"Yes, please do. And to all you devilish rogues listening in, the deadline for library fines and parking tickets is coming up soon."_

 _"And now for the weekly update."_

 _"I'm Kye Shee. There has still been no sign that the Freeza has learned of our home Rock-Row. Please don't worry about the isolation: indefinite does not mean permanent and this is all for_ you! _And remember: gloves, boots, striped rubber armor and murder in the eyes. Contact Shiwasay Base the instant you spot one of these evil invaders and_ _ **do not approach.**_ _We want_ them _crushed, not_ you _. S_ _ir Dow Moe has gifted us with the best military we could have. And a message from the man himself: 'I love you.' What a guy."_

 _"And now we'll be playing 'Lost my Heart_ — _"_ Click. Vegeta stepped ashore, dusting the last bit of ash from his disintegrated ship off his gloves. He walked until the sand turned to rocks turned to dirt turned to tall grass. He pressed a button on his scouter.

 _10,000._

 _8,550._

 _10,370._

 _12,690._

 _9,865._

 _10,00_ —Click.

Vegeta cut the sleeves off his jumpsuit and buried his gloves and armor beneath the closest tree to the shore. He was in trouble.

Towering white clouds hung in the sky like apocalyptic meteors frozen in time above gently sloping hills of rusty grass. It was a windy day with a sweet smell in the air. All around Vegeta, large furry animals were leaping out of the grass and galloping away towards the horizon. According to his scouter, almost a thousand beings of low power lay a few miles ahead. And a dozen more readings were drawing close.

Vegeta disappeared into the long grass as a land vehicle pulled up fifty yards away. A tall being hopped out, followed by a neat line of smaller ones. They each carried a bucket and had the cuffs of their pants tucked into their socks. They all looked like Saiyans with darker skin and lighter hair. And no tails, of course.

As the children reached the closest bush and began to pick berries, it was a wonder none of them heard the sound of grinding teeth coming from behind a hill. Hunched over, hands wrapped around his tail, Vegeta had checked the scouter again. Changed the scope. Found, in total, over _one hundred_ power levels in the 10,000 range. A shudder passed through his whole body as the base of his tail tore. Seconds later, it flopped to the ground lifelessly. As the school bus set off back the way it had come, Vegeta stood up, suddenly passing for a local.

*⁂*⁂*

The whole town smelled like food. Someone downwind with a sensitive nose would be able to smell it from an hour away. No one minded; it had no reason to hide itself.

Vegeta blew in on the next strong gust of wind running fast, but not so fast they couldn't see him. Building after building shot by, until he smashed into the side of a tall satellite dish near the center of town. He shouted along with the other screams and gasps of horror as the dish tipped and creaked. Vegeta scrambled away just in time as the ten-ton metal dish came down with a pavement-cracking _gongg_.

In his pocket, the " _connect to MATCHI LOCAL SERVER?"_ display that had been blinking for the past ten minutes on his scouter lost bars and disappeared. Locals were edging closer and poking their heads out of doors.

"WHERE AM I?!" Vegeta yelled at top venom and volume, leaping to his feet. "I'm not supposed to be here! Who did this? Show yourself! Or was it _all of you?!"_ He scrambled away from the encroaching bodies.

"Hey, calm down little guy," one of the men said in a slow voice.

"I didn't do anything! Did you grab me right out of space? This—HEY!" Arms wrapped around him from behind and lifted him off the ground. He struggled but didn't break free.

"We didn't do anything," said a different slow voice behind him. "What's this about space travel? Where were you going?"

"I was just minding my own business when I ran into the _Freeza Force._ Ten carrier ships, at least, and dozens of combatant pods swarming around like flies! They didn't see me in time and I managed to zip into an asteroid field to take cover. Alright, maybe I wasn't paying the most attention to what was in front of me, I was trying to see if they were following! The next thing I know I've landed here with a wreck of a ship."

"Did they see you?" said the local, spinning him around and suddenly looking very fierce. " _Did they see you heading towards this planet?"_

"Uh, no, no... they couldn't have," said Vegeta, thinking fast. They were speaking a simple variation of a root language he'd learned the other month, but that only made things possible, not easy. Good thing he'd been listening to their obnoxious radio show up until the minute he destroyed the satellite. "I was drifting in space for weeks with a busted ship. I wasn't anywhere near this place to begin with and they had plenty of time to get me before I got too far."

The local breathed a sigh of relief and carefully set Vegeta down. "That's a piece of bad luck. But considering you were almost taken by the Freeza... We can take a look at your ship. Where did it fall?"

No. No, they were not going to see his ship. That's why he disintegrated it. "It sank to the bottom of the ocean. I landed back there," Vegeta said, pointing off in the distance.

"Okay, show us the exact location and we'll send a submarine to fish it out."

"Um... not necessary, it cracked and it's in pieces by now."

"We have very capable metal detectors, I'm sure salvaging the pieces is better than nothing."

"No, it... it was in pieces _before,_ but then they all burned up in the atmosphere."

The local frowned, concerned. "What are you saying? Was the spaceship so compromised while you were still in orbit?"

"Yep, and since I had to make a no-ship landing I'm obviously feeling pretty bad right now so I'm going to rest." Vegeta turned his back to them and sat down. He stared at a fuzzy brown clump that smelled like soil growing in a crack in the road and thought hard.

After a respectful minute, someone put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Wouldn't you be more comfortable speaking Universal? How do you know this language?"

Shoot. "Uh, this language is fine. I'm a... linguist. I've studied more than twenty root languages." Did being honest make him more trustworthy or suspicious?

"We'll give you a place to stay for the time being," said the voice behind him. "We happen to be new to the town ourselves. I'm Mem Jaff, the Noodle Chef," said the cream-colored one in the middle.

"Nick Jaff, the Meat Chef," grunted the short toothy one.

"Abla Jaff, the Fry Chef!" sizzled the tall one.

"Right this way, kid!" chorused the three brothers Jaff. "What's your name?"

"That doesn't really matter," said Vegeta.

He spent the night on a cot crammed between bags of flour in their basement, wide awake and heart pounding.

*⁂*⁂*

"They don't know when or how I'll be able to get back, right?" Vegeta asked the next morning, leaning against the back wall while Mem Jaff worked with a rope of dough.

"A few days until they fix the signal tower," Mem said. He swept the dough across his flour-covered table, stretched it, and twisted it together. "Then the guys in the big cities can figure it out. Matchi's so isolated. It took me and my brothers a week's travel off the grid to get here. But the truffles and quarry taste fresher than anywhere else. And the ground's practically made of wheat!"

Vegeta blinked, distracted by the dough's changing texture. "You guys really like truffles, huh?"

"They're an international delicacy. Sometimes I wish everyone would take more time to appreciate a good noodle... but nothing's better than a high-quality truffle after a long day. Here," Mem threw a watermelon-sized fuzzy brown ball at Vegeta. "This is one of the first we've found this year."

"Where do you get them?"

"They grow about ten feet underground in the forest. We need dogs to smell them out and dig for us."

"It's just like the ones growing in the road," Vegeta said, smelling it himself. "Why bother digging in the forest?"

"The road ones taste like feet!" Mem laughed, tossing his rope into the air. It split into dozens of noodles and fell neatly into a pot of boiling water. "Enough talk, come over here and show me how much you picked up by watching during our conversation." When he was away from a Freeza Planet, Vegeta ate raw ingredients as he found them. He did not cook. His rope of dough crumbled into pieces and rolled to the corners of the room as if the floor was uneven. He was demoted to carrying around whatever Mem didn't have room in his own arms for.

At the front of the house lay a table for one Jaff to leave a Food In Progress for the next Jaff (generally Abla.) Towards the end of the day (after one of the best lunches Vegeta ever had), a teen was waiting for them.

"Shoon Say, get outta here," Mem said, angrily slamming the raw noodle platter down. "You want a sign you're hanging around us too much? Ms. Librarian comes to _me_ about _your_ overdue books."

"I won't hang around as much if you let me become your apprentice! Take me back to Katoy with you! I'll even change my name to Jaff."

"Get a job!"

"I have one." Shoon Say rolled his eyes. "I got it yesterday. Librarian says she'll take away my fines if I'll be the town dogcatcher... no respect for my culinary dreams... grumble grumble."

"I'll help you for a few hours," said Vegeta. The Jaff House was punishingly hot and humid with the 24/7 cooking, and he needed to learn something that wasn't how to make noodles.

*⁂*⁂*

"Just look out for them, I guess," Shoon said, pacing down the streets with a taser on the end of a long stick, some thick leather belts, a box of cookies, something that looked like a long thin sock, and leather mitts. "A few decades old family dogs ran away for the first time. Maybe the brothers just need to see how I can handle responsibility."

"Can the comm tower send messages to other planets?" Vegeta asked, not looking out for dogs.

"The signal tower? No! Why would we need to? Only Shiwasay Base can do that."

"... They're the local militia that's protecting us from Freeza," Vegeta said, kicking a rock in his special-issue Freeza Force alabaster boots. He'd taken a good look with his scouter last night. The only power levels in the area of note were eight located in the direction of Shiwasay Base, all around 8,000. "Are they doing a good job?"

"Considering our one year anniversary of safety since the threat emerged, I'd say yes. You didn't think it's weird how two out of every five people here are chefs? The whole planet's gearing up to celebrate."

Vegeta's eyes narrowed. "How did it emerge, exactly?"

"The hero, Dow Moe, told us. Now all this food's being made in his honor. Imagine... the brothers Jaff cooking for you." Shoon sighed wistfully. "You better help them as much as you can. I was so, _so_ close... but having your flour lifted by a guy who came... from space... is so much more appealing than a _dog catcher."_

"Dog!" Vegeta shouted suddenly as a Saiyan-sized, sleek-furred _beast_ of an animal ran in front of them. Its front paws were big and heavy and equipped with long blunt claws. It had a black button nose on the end of a two foot long snout and its black eyes were shinier versions of the nose. It ran hunched over on two legs with a hand scraping the ground for balance.

As soon as it saw Vegeta, it lost its mind. Shoon had managed to flank it from behind, and as he was deciding between covering its snout with the sock, tasering it, or strapping its arms and legs together, it squealed and thrashed around, gave Shoon a nip on the arm, trampled over him claws and all, and disappeared into the woods.

"I've never seen one so panicked," Shoon said in wonder, sitting up and seemingly unhurt. He suddenly looked to Vegeta, eyes wide.

"Well, time for me to head back," Vegeta said cheerfully. "I'll put in a word to the Jaffs for you. Good luck!"

Vegeta returned to sweep flour off the floor, move flour in from a different store in town, and try to get the flour dust out of his clothing. Suddenly it was dinner time. The brothers were loud and familiar in the way they talked about recipes. And the food was delicious, again. Before he knew it, he was on the cot in the storeroom once more. What a productive day. They accepted him. He just needed to figure out how he fit in to the ecosystem of Matchi.

He didn't sleep. He was so tired of making friends with locals. He couldn't remember why he'd ever done it.


	37. Routine

Chapter 37

嘘同化と実王化

Shoon Say woke up on the outskirts of town a few hundred feet from his bed. He would have thought it was a dream... except for the whiplash that had just broken his neck. He lay paralyzed and facing the starry sky, fragrant wild gase plants tickling his cheek.

It felt like he was alone. The wind was muttering something, wordless gutterals that he couldn't understand. He remembered going to bed on a empty stomach, thinking about getting a snack and falling asleep instead. Maybe he should have. Maybe every living being's fate was on a tightrope with only one course of action allowed at any given time and true choice was impossible. Maybe he'd made an infinitesimal mistake that caused reality to glitch and spit him out here.

A shadow stepped into view over him, blocking out the starscape. The teen's irregular breaths were questions filling the air around them. That hair... _those eyes..._ it was that creepy kid that was staying with the Jaffs. Shoon Say didn't even know his name.

Vegeta crossed his arms thoughtfully as the teen's skull caved in under his foot. He took a seat next to the body. No doubt about it, he'd have to find a way into that army base. That army base home to a collective power level of 64,000. And most likely unfamiliar alien software. If he wanted to use the base's transmission capabilities to put together any sort of message... he'd need a strategy. The Common Power Level of Rock-Row's citizens was 56. So how was their military force stronger than Freeza's?

Vegeta brushed off about ten black bugs that were crawling on him before running home. More importantly, was he afraid of them?

The next day during breakfast, Abla Jaff looked at Vegeta and made an unpleasant noise. "There's a tock on your neck. Don't move, I have to get it myself."

Vegeta sat still, not liking Abla's tone of voice and how the other two Jaffs cringed and looked away. Able sat down next to him with a pair of tweezers and Vegeta felt a sharp pinch then pain as Abla pulled out one of those black bugs from last night, dark red in the morning light. He gave Vegeta a cloth to stop the bleeding and mashed the bug in the sink with the back of a knife. Blood splattered and the brothers Jaff all gagged.

"Where were you? We don't see them in the city," said Mem Jaff.

"Must have been from when I first got in," said Vegeta. "I'll make sure there aren't any more before I start work."

Abla nodded and gave Vegeta the tweezers. "You have to be gentle, otherwise the head comes off under your skin. And don't try to burn them off, they'll throw up inside you and you'll get Lemyn disease. Hold on." Abla got a bottle of something out and read the label. "'If the tock has swelled bigger than the size of a fingernail you may be at risk for Lemyn disease.' Take a spoonful of this just to be safe." He handed Vegeta the bottle. "And make sure they're _dead!_ We find one of those things crawling around here, you're out on the streets, got it?" Abla paused. "Be more careful next time. Let me know if you start to feel sick."

What a fun planet this was turning out to be.

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta, tock-free, was helping to store the Jaffs' supplies and finished meals in their next-door rental house. He lifted stacks so tall and heavy that he fell through the floor.

"Call the property inspector," Vegeta said, floating up through the hole with the undisturbed 15-foot high pile of cauldrons. The other worker gave him a funny look. He tried to kick Vegeta but his foot collided with a leg of iron.

"Mention anything about me to anyone and you're dead," Vegeta said, walking by. "I know where your aunt lives, too."

The worker nodded pathetically.

*⁂*⁂*

"Is there anything you know how to cook yourself?" Mem Jaff asked Vegeta.

"Mint chocolate milkshakes," Vegeta said, not looking up from the dough he was kneading. "Does this planet even have mint? It's green, spiky, sharp smelling?"

Somehow Mem went to the storeroom and brought back a bundle of mint leaves. "Make one for me, I want to try it!" he said brightly. "Just tell me what ingredients you need."

After a few minutes Vegeta gave Mem a full green glass. Mem took a sip. "It's good," he choked out, setting it down in the sink. "B—bit strong, though. Thanks, you can get back to the noodles."

*⁂*⁂*

"You've been out of bay leaves for the past three days," Vegeta said, kicking down a pyramid of cans in the grocery store. "Abla Jaff needs them to serve this _entire_ planet. Have them next time if you don't want this to happen." One of the cashiers dropped to the ground with a hole in his chest. Vegeta materialized in front of the door before anyone made a move. "All of you," he said loud enough to reach every shopper. "Say anything to anyone and you're _all_ dead."

"Y... you missed them," a voice came from aisle five. "The—the bay leaves, I mean. They were just behind the t—thyme."

Vegeta flipped the sign from "OPEN" to "CLOSED" and drew the shades across the windows. "I'll tell you what it's time for."

*⁂*⁂*

Walking down the street, Vegeta caught the eye of a woman opening her front door. She instantly shrank back inside. The door came off in Vegeta's hand. He climbed to the second floor where the woman and her two sons were frantically packing their bags.

"Stop that," Vegeta said. "Don't you know you'll all die right now if you try to run away?"

"Why would we listen to you? You're gonna kill us anyway, aren't you!" the eldest boy yelled.

Vegeta shrugged. "The difference between killing you for a moment and a minute. An hour. A day. I bet I could drag it out for a _week_ if I wanted to."

Five people on the street saw the broken door when Vegeta came back out. They all gave him a slow nod and slunk back to their lives with resignation. He walked home with a smile on his face. He wasn't marooned after all. He'd found a familiar place in the middle of _terra incognita._ Ha!

*⁂*⁂*

"I don't come from here but even I can tell people have been going missing," Mem said, kneading dough with his head down. "Nick says the buffalo have disappeared as well. And none of the dogs that stuck around want to go outside to find truffles."

Vegeta padded around on the tile floor as he searched for reception on his scouter. It looked like their comm tower was up and running again.

"Your shoes don't have any laces. Boots. And I've never seen a machine like the one on your face." Mem held up a comm. "I'm calling Shiwasay."

Suddenly the comm was in Vegeta's hands, cracking to pieces.

"Th—the second I die, my brothers will know. They'll feel it. And they'll call for help long before you can track them down."

Vegeta pressed a button on his scouter. "Nick and Abla are both about a hundred feet to the north of us."

"Tell me your name." Mem's trembling fingers tore holes in the dough.

"Vegeta. And yes, I'm from the Freeza Force."

"Dow always said we'd be _invaded,"_ Mem said. Vegeta's eye twitched at his tone of voice. "I pictured explosions, comets falling from space. To think that the Freeza would use one that looked like us to get past our guard. And a _child,_ of all things."

 _ **"Now you've done it,"**_ Vegeta said in Universal, stepping forward.

*⁂*⁂*

At 2:45 that afternoon, the giant climate screen downtown flickered. The afternoon forecast was replaced by footage of soldiers marching across a stone plaza.

 _"Our troops are already celebrating the approaching anniversary of safety!"_ Cut to a few of them laughing over drinks and stories. _"But the festivities starting in four days don't mean a thing to evil invaders. Sir Dow himself urges you to keep an eye out for suspicious people who don't belong."_

Vegeta stilled. He felt the town around him convulse and start to pull apart but it snapped back in place. _Good. They're all holding nicely, even with the comm tower. I'll be done before the anniversary._

 _"And now, a personal message from Sir Dow Moe himself."_ The camera cut to a man sitting cross-legged in front of a fireplace.

 _"I thank each and every one of you for letting me in when I came to you in pieces. And for trusting me when I said there was danger."_ He wiped a tear from his black eye. _"I'm so proud of this entire Rock-Row. Believe me when I say you've accomplished something great in withdrawing contact with every other planet you had just started to meet. I believe that we'll live uninterrupted on this planet for years to come. And for that, we all deserve a week of good food and good people. Thank you."_

Vegeta kept his gaze up for a few seconds after the announcement ended. What was Ren doing on the big screen?

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta ascended for breakfast the next day just as Abla was telling Nick the news.

"... Gathering themselves since none of the townspeople have found anything. And they ordered fifty lunches for tomorrow morning to take along with them."

"Who's this?" Vegeta asked, pulling all the food on the table towards him.

"Shiwasay Base," Abla said. "You know how to make a basic lunch set, right? We're too busy working on the banquet today." He shook his oil mix together angrily. "Lucky Mem finished all the noodles before _disappearing._ Do you know where he went?"

"He said he was going to look for some special wheat, that's why he finished earlier," Vegeta lied. "He won't be back for two days. But I can help. I'll put together all the lunches and run them down tomorrow so you two can work uninterrupted."

Abla sighed in relief. Nick spoke, a rare occasion for him. "Thanks. You've been so much help to us. Sorry for our rude brother, when he gets back we would like to offer you a formal apprentice position here. (I didn't say anything.) Thanks again for taking care of the lunches."

"You're welcome," Vegeta laughed and finished his breakfast. "I'll get started now." He was not going to come back from Shiwasay Base.

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta was at the base's shiny metal double doors, two weeks after landing on Rock-Row and fifty days after leave Planet Freeza 14. He had the cart of lunches, his scouter in his pocket, and the packet of instant ramen stuffed down one of his socks. He rang the doorbell, and barely a second passed before it cracked open and an eye appeared. The eye looked him up and down. Vegeta's heart pounded as he gestured to the food at his side. His skin had darkened a little under the Rock-Row sun, but his hair remained jet-black...

The door opened fully to a uniformed soldier with brown hair pulled back in a high ponytail, running in place. He nodded his approval at the cart of lunches. "Hi! Thank you." He grabbed the box at the top of the stack and pushed it in his backpack, then jogged past Vegeta. Soldier after soldier was drawn out the door after him as if they were on fishing line.

"Hi! Thank you."

"Hi! Thank you."

"Hi! Thank you."

"Hi!..."

Vegeta counted fifty soldiers, one for every meal he brought. He looked critically at the size of the base as the last man disappeared into the hills with a "Show those hidden truffles the visible spirit of Rock-Row!"

The door didn't lock behind them. Vegeta stepped inside a brightly-lit room filled with armchairs, jigsaw puzzles, sports balls, and plastic glasses with silly straws in them. A four square court was painted on the floor. He noticed incense and a phonograph in a glass cabinet in the corner. And a chemical smell that made his hair stand on end.

A stooped old woman shuffled into the room. She looked at Vegeta, looked away, looked back, then sprayed the cabinet with cleaner. "Hate," she mumbled, wiping the glass with a rag. "Hate being in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a medium town, medium town worse than a small town, worse than the big city."

"Where are the restrooms?" Vegeta asked.

"Big city base has a lot, has signs everywhere, no question unanswered with a guidelook in the guidebook, small town base has nothing, nothing at all, root, hog, or die in the bushes like—"

"Where's someone else I can talk to?"

"Big city base has a staff, whole staff to cater to every one's every need, small town base doesn't need a one to meet needs that aren't needed, medium base, selfish base, takes no more than one wretch to mind the whole estate while no one's around to—"

"Where's the communication room?"

"Big city, beautiful city, has a one under the ground under lock and key hidden in the dark as a secret secret that no one needs, small town, smart town, doesn't have what it doesn't need, medium town, miserable town, keeps it at the highest floor as if no one will see—"

Vegeta blasted a hole through her chest and found the stairs. His feet moved so fast he was almost flying.

Rock-Row clearly had previous contact with other planets. Their Interplanetary Communications Unit was a standard audio-only FF 100 model, programmed in the local language. Once Vegeta had on his scouter and confirmed that he was still alone he entered in the code for Planet Freeza 14.

It was jarring to hear the voice on the other side speak Universal. _"Unknown caller! Identify yourself!"_ That was the most unfriendly tone he'd heard since landing on Rock-Row.

"It's Vegeta. Give me Freeza right now. I won't take no for an answer, this is _important."_ The line went dead. Vegeta nervously watched the Shiwasay soldiers' readings. They were static a few miles away from town.

Finally the line opened again. _"Vegeta? Why aren't you asleep in your ship right now?"_ It was Zarbon. Damn it, good enough.

"I got hit by an asteroid midflight. Must have been made of bangite or something else strong enough to destroy my ship. But the emergency failsafe came through and I'm stranded on a random planet. I don't have a way off. Send help _now."_ The knot in his shoulders relaxed slightly with the knowledge that _finally_ someone knew where he was.

Zarbon laughed. _"Whether good or bad I don't know, but you have some of the strongest luck I've ever seen. Give me a minute to extract your co-ordinates."_

The knot returned when the group of soldiers moved one pixel closer back to the base.

"Why aren't I talking to Freeza right now?"

 _"_ _ **Lord**_ _Freeza? Funny how you assumed he would drop what he's doing just because you asked for him. Maybe someone doesn't want to be picked up after all."_

Vegeta closed his eyes. _Oh my god. "I spoke out of turn, Lord Zarbon. Thank you for taking my call personally._ I just happened to discover a certain someone that I know Fr—Lord Freeza would be very interested to meet again..."

The Shiwasay boys marched back to their base in a cold sweat. The one in the front clutched a sickening omen. The one in the back had his thumb pressed tightly against a panic button.

 **"... Have they been sent yet? What part of 'now' don't you understand?! ... What I've done to this planet is my business, as well as what I'm planning on doing. Do you want a say in what happens, Zarbon? Get over here before I have the chance to kill** _ **all**_ **of them."** Vegeta looked up to see a group of Shiwasay soldiers crowded in the doorway. He thought they wouldn't have understood a word he said, but it looked like they did. And he was clearly using their machine for illegal contact with the outside world. Wearing a scouter. Small enough to fit the muddy battle-jacket one of them was holding.

Soldiers stared at soldier.

Soldier stared at soldiers.

Vegeta jumped straight through the ceiling and jetted out of sight. He didn't need a scouter to know that every high power level on the planet had started to close in on him.


	38. Prey

Chapter 38

垃麺作り方と弱肉強食

Flying through open sky, Vegeta had just spotted a dense forest up ahead when someone grabbed his waist and yanked him out of the air. He got pulled into the group of Shiwasay soldiers, one of them holding his arms behind his back tightly. They looked at him with horror in their eyes like he was something black and hairy that had just crawled out of the drain. Then they kicked and punched him from all sides.

Vegeta had to throw his legs out into the chest of the guy in front of him, crouch over so that the one holding his wrists got in the way of the attacks, and buck him off when his guard was down just to break free. Normally that would be enough to win the fight. But not with these opponents that _Ren,_ master trainer extraordinaire, had pulled to the upper levels. Vegeta had studied with Ren for a year. Why did he, strongest of the warrior race with blood as pure as it got, walk away with a power level of 1,000 instead of 10,000? 20,000?

These soldiers were stronger than the average Freeza Force soldier, but Vegeta's current strength wasn't average tier. And you could tell by the way they fought that they hadn't seen their share of interstellar wars and extermination campaigns. Also, liquid battle ran through Vegeta's veins.

He still had one soldier to go when his scouter beeped that reinforcements were a few hundred meters away. They had caught up to him instantly when he tried to run straight away. He couldn't be seen. He stomped the last soldier's leg and escaped into the forest, leaving his opponent disabled on the ground. A risky jump above the treeline told him everything he needed to know. This wasn't an enclosed nature reserve. The forest went on for as far as the eye could see.

Vegeta could practically feel the red warning siren spreading through the entire planet. He'd crash-landed here 36 days after leaving Planet Freeza 14. All he needed to do was survive for a little over a month and he'd make it out.

His scouter could tell him where the closest power level was at any moment. Vegeta spent the rest of the afternoon threading between the readings that were flooding the woods. He already had some minor injuries from the fight earlier. But the Force knew what had happened and help was on its way. And Zarbon had a small heart attack when Vegeta told him about Ren. This horrible accident was turning out to be better than the original plan.

The sun was setting. Instinctively Vegeta read the cycle of the moon... barely a sliver. This planet was huge and could take weeks to travel around. And most of all _he_ _didn't have a tail. Again._

It was always easier to smell toxins in living flesh than in plants, but all the animals in the forest had run away days ago. Good thing Vegeta could smell where the truffles were buried. There were also Kasan Soot berries, the red berries he had seen the school field trip picking on his first day here, but they weren't a good food source as only a few bushes had chosen to grow in the forest over the tall grass. He ate in lieu of sleep. He hadn't been able to sleep even an hour when he had a warm bed and was among weak civilians who _might_ turn on him. Now his chance was long gone. They were searching for him and he had to keep moving.

Over the next few days, Vegeta moved farther and farther into the forest. His scratches were healed and he was itching for another fight. The scouter showed two 12,500s and a 9,000 in a group. Over 30,000 if you added them together, and he was still around 13,500. His eyes unfocused past the glass screen for a moment and then he moved on.

He found a smooth tree base, set his scouter to go off if any power level got within 200 meters, and tried to go to sleep. His eyes shut...

... And then opened when a tock almost crawled up his nose. He picked it off and threw it away, then remembered the twenty ones he had found between running into town and his nighttime meeting with Shoon. And the Jaffs stern admonitions of "Lemyn disease." His _chi_ exploded, splitting the nearby trees and frying ten more little armored spiders that dropped off him to the ground. Vegeta was startled by his scouter alarm as a few dozen readings instantly homed in on him.

"Idiot," he muttered, and made tracks.

On the eighth day since making contact, Vegeta couldn't find a food source. Truffle season was over. Every way he'd come from was infested with high power readings. They must be driving him away intentionally. Saiyans took about a third as long to starve as humans did, fifteen days.

That afternoon, Vegeta picked off two 8,000s and a few 3,000s that were away from the rest. His stomach was already killing him. Maybe if he visualized adding their energy to his own...

Keep moving and the landscape was bound to change. All the ninth day, Vegeta took down every smaller power level he could find. Weaken their numbers, he told himself. Once he found an unguarded region of edible forest he'd get to work on the 10,000s. In the meantime all he had was rainwater.

Having his own scouter at all times was terrible. After one and a half days without food he saw his power level drop to a little over 11,700. So he was relieved to finally find a bush of Kasan Soot berries. They looked perfectly ripe—plump and with a beautiful deep red tinge to their black skin.

He bit into three at once. They burst in his mouth... not sweet, metallic. Blood dripped down his chin. He noticed the fresh bodies he had killed earlier that day lying nearby. The "berries" crawled on the bush.

A shudder ran through Vegeta and he spat. It was too late. He could feel blood and skin and prickly little legs wriggling down his throat. _Oh god._ He threw up nothing but bile, stumbled barely five paces, and threw up again.

 _Thirsty._ He crawled his way to the pools of rainwater he'd been drinking from, but by now they were stagnant. He could see more insects writhing inside. No good.

Vegeta struggled onward, bent over and dry-heaving for the first mile. His skin broke out in hives. His left arm spasmed uncontrollably. His clothes were made of needles. But he was still alive. The sun set, stayed down for a while, then rose again. _Somehow_ no one found him. He crawled in a sick, dehydrated daze for a few more hours. Then he finally fell asleep, collapsing mid-step as he was making his way down a hill in the forest.

Maybe moments later Vegeta woke up on the shores of a hidden lake that gleamed in the late-afternoon sun. The water was crystal-clear. He didn't think he was awake. Rolling over, not enough energy left to stand, Vegeta fell into the icy water and gulped down gallons of it, keeping a watchful eye on his scouter. He felt worlds better, but his head ached and his vision was blurry. This was ridiculous. They may be IGRIS or very close to it, but he couldn't let his own squeamishness get in the way of being well-fed any longer. But an itching down his boot distracted him. Something was rubbing against his irritated skin.

His packet of lucky instant ramen. He'd forgotten. Vegeta took it out of his boot, mouth watering. What did Ren say about it? It was so long ago and he didn't have a perfect memory anymore... but there was a reason he'd been saving it...

The package was crinkly plastic with a blue banner wrapping around. "Mizūmi-ni" brand instant ramen.

"Oh. Gotcha," Vegeta said aloud. He tore the wrapping off and threw the dehydrated cube in the lake. He sprinkled in the powdered flavor and dried peas and carrots and lent the water some of his _chi_ through the palms of his hands. It started to bubble and boil and something rose to the surface from the depths.

The entire lake was full of noodles. Delicious, steaming, salty noodles. Vegeta filled his stomach for the first time in a lifetime, eating up fifteen cubic feet of soup in one sitting.

The lake, a hundred feet across, wouldn't last him more than a few days. Fine, because Vegeta couldn't afford to be tied to one location for any longer than that. He felt like himself again. He took a few field trips away from the ramening hole and finally fought a 10,000.

He hung out nearby and let the man sneak up on him. Vegeta didn't block anything, he was just suddenly out of the path of the attacks.

"Alien invaders can only run from the power of Rock-Row!"

"Think 10,000 points equals ultimate power? Get your head out of your own planet." That was the end of that.

After days of sleeping, eating, casual fighting, and fleeing the scene before reinforcements arrived, the ramen was almost gone. Vegeta was doing a slow fly-by over the surface, his arms submerged up to the shoulders in watery broth, trying to feel out the last handfuls of food.

Something cold grabbed his hand.

Vegeta thrashed away... but nothing was there. No reading on his scouter.

He smelled electricity. The sun got brighter, the ripples in the lake warped, a pair of eyes flashed below the surface for an instant, dozens, hundreds of power levels appeared all around him, all rising in perfect sync with each other. _1,000, 5,000, 10,000..._

Just after they reached _13,600,_ his scouter went dead. Vegeta didn't have the chance to move before the woods were replaced by angry Row-Rowians. He didn't know how strong they were. But they outnumbered the trees.

Vegeta picked a side and tried to break though.

Something had changed in them. They were more confident. Fourteen days of Vegeta skulking in the woods had sent a clear message: I'm trapped here. _But that wasn't true, right?_ He should have been fine. He was supposed to be on a mission; he couldn't waste this time waiting passively for a ride back.

He tried to fight them. But they were stronger than before. They outnumbered the leaves on the trees. They pushed Vegeta all the way to the water's edge before he tried to run. But they weren't taking that for an answer.

In the end he escaped with injuries. A deep cut across his leg. A broken rib. Bruises all over. He had taken one of them down, the rest were after him. He ran away at full force, but the forest was full of people. _Trying_ wasn't enough to shake his pursuers.

After hours of running with no scouter and fighting at full strength, Vegeta finally burst into a quiet section of the forest. He was hidden up a tree the instant before they caught up to him. Sides heaving, heart beating, he watched them split up to look for him. His stomach was queasy for some reason. Something about the predatory way they snaked through the trees, moving in unison like a hivemind, their only goal to get him.

His attention snapped to a rustling nearby. Out came an unfamiliar man with very familiar clothes.

"Give that armor back," Vegeta said, dropping to the ground. "Even if it stretches to fit, it isn't your size." Perfect. He had been getting battered. This would make the going a lot easier.

"You're flagging, invader," the bronze-haired Rock-Rowian said triumphantly. "Not so easy when you're blind like the rest of us, eh?"

"What was it, an electromagnetic pulse?" Vegeta furiously clicked the button on his scouter, but it was still unresponsive. "Good thing I don't need it to kill you and take back that stolen battle jacket, you scum." He swept the alien's legs out from under him and crushed his fingers. Couldn't attack the body.

This one was quite strong as well. Vegeta thought he couldn't be less than 10,000. But as they began to fight his mood lifted. He forgot about the frantic need to survive. He just focused on beating this one opponent and suddenly he was with it.

Vegeta had just doled out a finishing kick to the temple when his scouter turned back on. Ronji's technology had finally pulled through. But before he could do anything, a solid rubber ball flew in out of nowhere and smashed his face. Blood and pieces of his useless scouter rained down and suddenly he was back to that place again. Pursued.

They circled him cautiously, knowing he'd get the first one that attacked.

Vegeta didn't realize how weak he was at fighting defensively. Just a few days of this and it was like he had forgotten how to be aggressive. His _first instinct_ had been to whittle down their numbers from a hiding spot. That was strategy only acceptable fighting an enemy bigger in numbers _and_ in strength. He had cut off his own tail with barely a second thought to pass as one of them. Between the peaceful Galajū and the glorified errand that was Sy'yo'say, Vegeta's instincts had changed. He finally knew what he should have done the second he heard that radio broadcast. The question was, was it too late?

*⁂*⁂*

Miles and miles away, the great battalion was flying across the ocean to save the day. They would be on the forest continent in twenty minutes. Ahead of them the sky lit up in a brilliant purple flash of light.

"Hurry, before the invader takes one more of our own!" cried Commander Deva Jatt.

"Who is it?" Ren muttered to himself. "Who in the world could it be?"

*⁂*⁂*

Running through the woods, Vegeta didn't see anymore people to fight. Good. He didn't want to be held up on his way out. There was a whole planet he had to meet.

"See, there's no reason to avoid making a mission out of this just because I arrived by mistake and my ship got busted," Vegeta said to the barely-alive armor double he was dragging along with him.

"Why kill some of us when you're just going to die in the end?! You're prolonging—"

"Yeah, yeah, that's the thing!" Vegeta shouted. "Not a single one of you is stronger than me!"

"Thousands against one, buddy. It'll get'cha real soon."

"Thousands against one? Who said I fight with the power of one? Ha ha. Get outta here." Vegeta shook the soldier out of his armor. The woods split and the coastline spread out before him. He'd made it to the other side.

Vegeta smelled the clean salty air and held his new tail in a reassuring grip. He was even treated to his favorite view in the whole world: an approaching army on the horizon. _Thank you._ He knew what to do. Just borrow a little bit of the planet's atmosphere and create a small power ball...

He saw Ren at the front lines. He didn't know if Ren would recognize him in this form. But he'd know the identity of the devil from his past soon enough. **"It wasn't too late,"** Vegeta roared, leaping over the ocean.

*⁂*⁂*

The power ball could last for over an hour on its own but Vegeta coaxed it to almost twenty-four hours by adding more _chi._ The second it went out he'd be left far weaker than Nappa. This was his only chance to hit the whole planet _hard._

To the citizens of Rock-Row, their worst fear was fully realized. After all Dow Moe had done to prepare them, he forgot to say the invaders were carnivorous beasts fifty feet tall!

This time, no one had told Vegeta not to damage the planet's resale value. Continents crumbled into the ocean. Flat plains were pushed up into mountains and then deeply gouged. Vegeta had to fight harder than ever to hold on to consciousness when he transformed back. There were still three weeks left and he had too much work to do.

After word got out that the invader had overpowered Dow—but not killed him—the remaining fighters converged in droves with attempt after desperate attempt to protect their planet. The invader was never hard to find anymore. But no one gave him more than a bruise or a thin cut. No one more than glimpsed the unconscious Dow Moe. And the ones who survived saw nothing at all.

Vegeta didn't have anything left after making that power ball and staying transformed for so long. His _chi_ blasts were weak and he was tired all the time. He'd just have to eat more. He was staying out in the open but fewer and fewer people were making the pilgrimage to fight him. A wave of happiness washed over Vegeta as he remembered the dozens upon dozens of 10,000 readings that were now nowhere to be seen. He had to give Ren credit. His homemade army would have crushed 99% of the forces that could have been sent over. But nowadays it only took one survivor to check their scouter and call for someone stronger. 99% was pretty impressive, but all Ren could have done was hope the likes of Zarbon or Freeza didn't get involved. Or Vegeta.

"Hey." Vegeta tried to meet Ren's eye. He'd been catatonic ever since Vegeta as a great ape had decimated his elite forces over the ocean. "You wanna know how I got here?"

"Nnnh," said Ren, turning away.

"I got hit by an asteroid strong enough to break my ship... _and_ I was close enough to a planet to land before the life support failed... _and_ the planet was advanced enough for me to send a distress signal... and _you_ were here! I don't think anyone's had odds like that in the history of the galaxy!"

Ren didn't say anything, just shook his head.

"Ren." Vegeta kicked his old teacher in the side. "How many days since I started my attack?"

"38." Ren's voice was foggy and removed. His hair was flatter than Vegeta remembered. More importantly, their ride should be here by now. He sighed. He'd have to find more food for Ren. Having a prisoner carried more responsibilities than one would think. At least the whole planet was well-stocked for the anniversary.

On the way back to the newest ghost town, they were jumped by the last five surviving warriors trained by Ren. Out of hiding at last. The group of them had recently been dubbed "The Final Hope of Rock-Row."

*⁂*⁂*

 _Five red dwarf stars fall into the sun. The moon is there to watch it all._

*⁂*⁂*

The spaceship landed five minutes after Vegeta was done, as if on cue. To his mild surprise, Zarbon himself stepped out to load Ren in. Just before Vegeta crossed the threshold a gallon of water that smelled faintly of onions splashed on his head. He looked up to clear blue skies and open air.

It was a small ship, but big enough to house a room separate from the cockpit. It was here that the three of them sat in silence. Vegeta kept still to not disturb his injuries while blood and water dripped on the floor. He'd almost lost that last one.

"Tell us right now, Ren," Zarbon said, pressing a button on his scouter. "What brought you to a position of significant power in a backwater planet isolated from interplanetary society?"

Vegeta sat up. He had a few hunches and guesses, but these details were important to him.

Ren gripped the edge of his chair. "Years ago, when the rebels came to my planet, I knew it was my only chance to leave. I... I turned against you and fought on their side. I escaped as the battle concluded. Then I travelled to a planet called Sazz that gave me a shortcut here."

"You went to the Galajū?" Vegeta spoke up. "But they don't let anyone use their planet for things like that."

"I have a history with them. I stayed a few weeks and taught some seminars. It wasn't a big deal.

"Anyway, I just wanted to live in peace on Rock-Row. They were getting their start in galactic trade. I'm only a teacher but you pick up that kind of stuff in the Force. I gave them a hand." Ren's head bowed. "And then I convinced them to break all their trade routes and disappear when I heard Lord Freeza was moving to this half."

"And then you built an incredible army," Vegeta said. "That was a lot of fun."

"Zarbon, if you're recording this for Lord Freeza, I have a message I want to add," Ren said, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket. He cleared his throat twice. "'Dear Lord Freeza. You are the most evil being I or anyone else could ever conceive of. You have laid waste to billions of lives and worlds. Genocide. Why is it that no one ever uses that word? Every day you continue to exist puts more strain on the fabric of reality itself. And I'm ashamed of every minute I spent under your control. Yes, you can't control me anymore. I know you're going to kill me, and I know you think that equals control, but it doesn't. It's just a smokescreen, or maybe the next best option. The _instant_ I or—or anyone else—stops submitting to you, we're free. You control the weak-willed fools who choose to bend to your power. And you kill the ones you're afraid of.'"

"Are you done?" Zarbon asked. Ren nodded. "Good. Lord Freeza, I humbly apologize for any offense you may have taken during the course of this call. We're scheduled to arrive in 36 days."

Ren finally looked at Vegeta with sad black eyes. "Why? Why didn't you just come find me? Why did you go straight to killing my planet? If you felt you had no choice... well, truthfully it was a precarious situation... but... you must have known I would have tried my best to help you."

"You betrayed Lord Freeza," Vegeta said, feeling Zarbon's eyes and Freeza's ears on him. _You ran away from that entire war,_ he thought to himself.


	39. Versus

Chapter 39

As soon as they landed and Ren had been dragged off, Zarbon took Vegeta aside and said he had earned a promotion for his service. Instantly Vegeta was on alert. He was finally, _finally_ going to be made a Lord. He could barely follow behind Zarbon, distracted with making plans to track Kiwi down later so he could _rub it in his face!_

Vegeta didn't find it strange when they ended up at the great room, but he did when Freeza was nowhere to be seen. And then Zarbon led him over to the drum.

"Here's the deal," Zarbon said, picking up a big cloth-bound drumstick. "You want to strike it _here,_ harder than you'd think but not too hard, always keep eye-contact with the leader and match his pace, and don't join in with the chanting. Drummers have to focus all their attention on keeping an even volume, tone, and rhythm."

"Okay," said Vegeta tonelessly. The funny thing is, deep down, he had a feeling it would be something like this.

Kiwi burst through the doors. "Lord Zarbon! What's the meaning of this?" He'd been the drummer up until then, not that Vegeta had ever noticed. While Zarbon explained that they would be getting an extra to deal with yet another influx of new recruits, Vegeta pushed past Kiwi and out the door. Zarbon wasn't stopping him so there wasn't anything else to learn. _At least I don't have to chant anymore. At least I don't have to chant anymore. At_ — _least—I—Prince—Ve-ge-ta—do—not—have—to—say—those—de-mean-ing—words—e-ver—a-gain._

He had barely gotten down the hallway before he was tugged over to the control center doors.

"Vegeta," said the control worker, "we're catching you before you're gone for another year."

"What's going on?" Vegeta pulled his arm away. He had to get into a healing tank soon. And then _supper._ Yeahhhh, that sounded good.

"The favor. You know, letting you and Nappa leave off the record way back when. We're cashing it in."

"Oh. That. Will it take long?"

"No, no, not long at all." A weird sheen of energy passed over the control worker and he elbowed his buddy in the next chair over. "This is so great. Thanks a lot, man, I mean, Vegeta. Meet me here at 8:00."

"Sure." Vegeta left wondering what business a bunch of control workers could need him for.

*⁂*⁂*

"It's been a while, Mr. Ren," Freeza said softly. Ren was silent, hunched over on his hands and knees. "Speak."

"Y—yes it has, Lord Freeza."

"Something tells me you weren't planning on seeing me again."

"You're right." Ren didn't lift his gaze from the floor.

Freeza's tail slithered between them and lifted Ren up by his neck. "You never approved of me, but I didn't peg you for an actual traitor. And I was right. You found the easiest time to slip away without making a sound. No controversy. No statement. No one can even call you brave for following your own beliefs. I'm upset to have lost such a fine teacher."

"Just do it," Ren whimpered, a black tear rolling down his cheek.

"No, don't!" An uninvited guest threw open the door noisily. Ronji.

"Mr. Ronji. I hope you know what you're doing."

"I need him, Freeza." Ronji took a jump back through the doorway and sank in a deep bow. "I've reached the experimentation phase for a new idea and I need live subjects. I've asked around, but it sounds like you guys have some sort of anti-prisoner policy."

"That's not true. They just never last long enough." Freeza's eyes shifted between Ren and Ronji. "This experiment... is it fatal?"

"Ideally, yes."

"Will it be sudden?"

"No, sir, not at all."

"... Fine." Freeza poked Ren forward with the tip of his tail. "Just return the body when you're done."

Ronji looked at Ren, curling into a white-knuckled ball on his side, through his scouter. "Aren't you going to subdue him for me first? He's more than 10,000."

Freeza gave a little _heh_ that came from deep in the back of his throat. "Have you heard a sound from him? He's plenty subdued already. This is one who knows how much farther he can still fall. He wouldn't dare try anything... even if he was the vengeful type. Now leave."

Ronji guided Ren through the halls at a fast clip to waters unknown.

*⁂*⁂*

That evening, Vegeta arrived at a control center quietly manned by two workers. "Over there," one of them said, indicating a small door next to the main computer.

The side room was dimly lit with soft music playing from somewhere and a few occupied couches and armchairs facing a large TV.

"Thanks for coming," said the familiar control worker, steering Vegeta toward the largest couch and passing him a bowl of chips and an unfamiliar device. "My name's Chapke, by the way."

"What's this?" Vegeta asked, turning the device around in his hands. Sleek black, handheld size and shape, with multicolored buttons and a small speaker at the top. "Is it a comm or a remote control?"

"Uh, a remote control," said one of the guys on the couch.

The room exploded with a thunderclap of orchestral music and a grid of alien heads popped up on the big screen.

 _ **CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER**_

"What _is_ this?" Vegeta asked, completely confused. A different alien lit up every time he touched one of the buttons on the remote control.

"Just a little fighting game some of us have been workin' on," said Chapke enthusiastically. "Pick a character."

"Are they supposed to be members of the Force? I don't recognize a single one."

"Not even Kachōshi and Tarmoss?! They've been here the longest, almost a full year. Well, either way... better go with Gegs." Chapke leaned over and pushed a button. "He's the most balanced overall."

The screen flashed and suddenly two characters were standing on a flat plane. "Gimme that," Chapke said, grabbing the controller. "Okay, so push the stick in the direction you want to go. This one's Attack 1, this one's Attack 2, here's Range Attack, this is Block and if you hit it while running you'll do a Roll, Taunt 1, 2, and 3, and—"

"Is this what you wanted me to do?" Vegeta asked through a mouthful of chips. "Play this weird simulated fight of yours?"

"We need to see if our CPU and the game's engine can keep up with your reflexes. None of us are in a high enough power level demographic to test it ourselves."

"That's because no one strong would waste their time pretending to fight imaginary people in a screen," Vegeta said, an edge in his voice. "This is dumb. I thought you were going to get me to beat someone up."

"If you don't want to do it, I can always tell Lord Zarbon about your unauthorized trip," said Chapke. "I'm sure he'd be just as curious as I am to know where you went."

"If you're going to tell Zarbon anything I'll kill you before you get the chance." Vegeta stared wide-eyed at Chapke, the screen light casting ominous shadows on their faces, then he laughed. "Don't look so scared! I'll do it, but let me watch you play for a while. I want to know what's going on."

So Vegeta watched Chapke and his four friends "fight" each other with different characters in different places. Everything moved so _slowly._ He couldn't help but focus on the details out of boredom.

"His head should snap the other way."

"They're too quiet."

"If that's a power kick, actually put some _power_ into it. He looks like a piece of plywood."

When he'd finally seen enough, and all the chips were gone, Vegeta picked up the controller. Chapke's buddies watched with bated breath as the CPU went up to the highest level, "Freeza."

 _ **MATCH ONE**_ — _ **FIGHT!**_

Vegeta's controller broke in half. His onscreen character threw one punch and was still. All the control workers swore loudly.

"What happened?!" Chapke yelled.

"I thought they were built to be more durable. How were all of you getting those strong attacks?" Vegeta asked, staring at the broken controller. It had split at the hole where the attack button used to be.

"You aren't supposed to _press it as hard as you want to attack,"_ said Chapke, head in his hands. "It's like a comm or a calculator. Press number five, it enters number five. Press the attack button, it attacks."

"Are you _serious?_ Then there's no point whatsoever! Why did you make this thing?"

"Just actually try. Please. We had a deal. Konakoto, get him the other controller. I'll tell you what," Chapke said. "I worked really hard on this. I think that you won't be fast enough—fast, not strong!—to beat the computer. After one practice round, I bet you won't even be able to _see_ it."

"Grrr. Fine. If I lose I'll stay for all the calibrations you need, but if I win you buy me food from Tabegock for the next three days."

"Tabegock? What's that?"

Vegeta groaned. People in the second half didn't know _anything._ "Just—just ask a trading officer or anyone from the first half. Figure it out."

"Okay, fine, whatever. Deal."

Vegeta lost the practice round and won the real round by the skin of his teeth. But all bets were off when Konakoto refilled the chip bowls. Vegeta decided to keep playing.

It was strange looking in on the fight from the side and the attack options were unrealistically limited, but dodging and countering the computer's attacks (attacks that were actually pretty fast) while being cheered on by a pack of nerds was kind of fun. In its own way. A decent way to spend an evening... once or twice.

It got late. Vegeta was just starting to think towards bedtime when he felt it. They all did. A shadow standing in the doorway behind them. Vegeta was first to turn around and see...

... Himself. Standing in the same trashed armor he'd taken off hours ago. He... the _apparition..._ smiled and walked off. Vegeta vaulted over the couch and was out the door in a flash.

He wasn't expecting it to be just around the corner, but it was. He almost slipped on a wet spot on the floor in his haste to block its path.

"Who—why— _what are you?!"_ Vegeta spluttered. He saw the trail of water the thing left behind and noticed its deep sea-green eyes. It reminded him of some other recent water-related happenings he couldn't explain.

"Noodles," the doppelgänger chuckled. "What was up with that, man?"

"Did... did you come from the lake on Rock Row?" Vegeta asked, feeling miles and miles behind.

"Maaaaybe," it said with his vocal chords but in a tone of voice he'd never used before. "Thanks for giving me your form. And for getting me off the planet. I need to find some new digs that aren't destroyed. You have authority here, right? You can just take off for a different planet whenever you want, right?" the doppelgänger said, drawing away into the shadows.

"Hey, get back here!" Vegeta grabbed its arm but it broke his grip effortlessly. Too late. He was alone in the hallway. And then he was struck with the most wonderful, awe-inspiring, terrifying thought.

 _That was his strength._

He needed to catch it before it left the planet.

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta actually spent five minutes _asking around_ if anyone had seen him before he remembered his scouter. In Exact Mode it told him his current power level was 13,879. There was only one other reading that matched point-for-point, and it was heading away from him.

He almost broke through the walls in his excitement to give chase. _First... first we'll fight and then he'll find another place to live because this is_ _ **my**_ _planet and I'll do a few missions and visit him in a year or two and we'll fight again... and again... and again...!_

Vegeta rounded the last corner and collided with Zarbon. Zarbon was so surprised to see him that he dropped the skewered-through-the-abdomen corpse of Vegeta's doppelgänger.

"What are you doing there?" Zarbon asked far too calmly.

"What are _you_ doing with my... my..."

"Foreign bio-parasite? Is that what it is? That makes sense, I thought you were acting a little off."

"... What did... 'I'... do?"

Zarbon nudged the body over to Vegeta. "Asked me for an unspecified permit to leave the planet. I said no, but I could tell you were just going to steal something and make a huge mess like last time."

"Last time... I was seven years old."

"I could see it in your eyes."

"So you shoved your fist through my— _its_ —viscera?"

Zarbon noticed his own bloody glove. "Give me your sleeve."

"Huh? As if I'm going to let—"

" _Vegeta._ I'm your commanding officer."

Vegeta felt the weight of the body at his feet. He held out his arm. Zarbon reached past it and wiped his glove down Vegeta's face.

"Clean that up," Zarbon said, stepping on the doppelgänger's throat on the way out.

Shell-shocked, Vegeta's hands brushed the other one's armor. It felt soft, lukewarm, like recently dead skin. It wasn't even a proper clone, just a disguise. Like an octopus. But Zarbon hadn't known that when he'd punched a hole in it.

A minute later he was hit by the forth and final train of the day. Nappa and Raditz were still travelling to their mission, the mission he had been on his way to before he got sidetracked on Rock-Row. They were travelling to a mission that had been intended for a 13,000, a 6,000, and a 700. Not a 6,000 and a 700 by themselves.


	40. Verses

Chapter 40

Neither Nappa nor Raditz's spaceship readings appeared on Vegeta's monitor once he had reached Planet Shi. That name was a bad omen. It was spooky how many different languages across space kept the same meaning for the simple sound of _shi_ —"Death."

Orbiting around the cloud-spotted planet, Vegeta thought about his first move. It didn't matter if there were other people with power levels around 700 and 6,000, Nappa and Raditz were members of the Freeza Force so the scouter would be able to pick out their individual readings. Unless they were dead already.

 _ **TO THE FINAL ONE OF THREE / THOU KNOW OF US AND US OF THEE / THE TWO FELLOWS YOU LEFT TO CHANCE / HAD CHALLENGED US TO A DANCE / WE GOT GREAT MOVES WHEN IN THE MOOD / AND SO A GREAT BIG GAME ENSUED / YOU'VE COME THIS FAR, SPACE ACROSS / NOW PLEASE COME DOWN AND CLAIM YOUR LOSS.**_ This message was scrawled across the monitor of Vegeta's ship, now within range to receive local transmissions.

 _Either they were cowards and ran or idiots and lost, that's what I thought. I never figured the locals would keep them alive. I guess the universe really is a big place._ Vegeta set his ship to make its descent. _But what's with that writing style?_

Nothing about the planet looked too dangerous or remarkable. Falling in from space Vegeta saw some cotton ball trees, a few indistinct towns, gauzy hills, and the foggy major metropolitan area he was due to land in. There was some turbulence as the ship punched through a building.

Out of the ship, Vegeta stood on the edge of his landing crater and casually scanned the shaken pedestrians. "I got the message. Where are they?"

"Um... ah... h—hwo?" a lady stutter'd, pushing her eight year old son forward. "He... he'll... know."

"G... good morning, Ship Burier." His eyes snapp'd from Vegeta to a book he had open. A picture dictionary, like the one Vegeta used on Sy'yo'say. "Would you be another ferrier?"

He wasn't making sense. Vegeta raised his fist.

"Stop! It won't be a week, but the ones you seek... they're far away, they'll cross many a mile, so won't you stay and wait a while?"

A familiar silence plagued with whispers settl'd over the city block as Vegeta sat down to wait. He could be complacent for an hour or two without falling into that bad habit of his. If Nappa and Raditz weren't here before sunset, he'd start the mission and track them down on the way.

"If I could have your attention, sir?" It was the kid from before, holding out his Shiese to Universal picture dictionary. "Please sign my book, as it were."

"You giving me a release form? Oh... you want my autograph." Vegeta shook his head in disbelief. He took the pen and scribbled on the cover page. "How long until they get here?"

"A man from the place of science is on the run. To take you to your friends, in five hours he will come." Vegeta sat back down with a thud. _Great._ He stared up at the shifting-haze sky for five minutes, then climbed back down to his spaceship. It was completely empty except for the mission briefing. Vegeta picked it up. It was just as bare-bones as the rest. _"... Five seasons climate...Tech level medium... Do not damage the resale value of this planet... Keep wildlife untouched unless otherwise noted..."_ Vegeta had more fun throwing the single sheet of paper in the air than reading it. After a few tries he could follow its descent with a finger, tracing the flips and dives perfectly. Then he stretched out in the crater with his back against his ship, toying with his scouter. There were dozens of readings in the city that fell between 700 and 6,000. He pressed the comm button again and just like earlier, both Nappa and Raditz's sides were static. Probably destroyed. It was funny, if he listened closely there was a deep _thump thumpa thump thumpa thump thumpa thump_ sort of undercurrent and the static almost snarled instead of crackled.

"Nappa! Raditz! Can you hear me?" Vegeta spoke loudly into the scouter. No response. Yeah, they were probably dead. The scouters, that is. Probably. Probably just the scouters.

Some older woman peek'd over the crate edge. "When one's alone, one does not think. One does not want. One doesn't feel. When wanting, thinking, up-and-kicking!, one is never truly alone. Now if you are there and I am here, how alone are we?"

Looking at her blankly until she held up a loaded tea tray, Vegeta. They drank and ate in silence. "Your friends are naughty, true, and haughty, too," was the only thing she said, interrupting Vegeta's "Thank you."

Enough waiting. Without getting up, Vegeta tossed some _chi_ at a building down the street which crumbled immediately. A line of kids came filing out towards him. He had knocked down the municipal schoolhouse.

"Fine," Vegeta sighed, a hint of a smile on his face at the strange locals. "Who wants an autograph?"

Two hundred small hands raised. Papers and textbooks flew through the air like so many young souls, unfettered from the chains of seated learning.

His name was Acro, the "man from the place of science," and he had Vegeta get into the passenger's seat of a dusty hovercar that was now speeding across a powdery desert. "I'm curious, how much of a fight did they put up before you took them prisoner?" Vegeta asked, watching house after undamaged house go by.

"If they weren't giving their all... Lord Shika has no wealth. Lucky that I got to... fight them... myself," said Acro, without a scratch or a bruise or a missing limb and showing up on the scouter as 550. "Once you three get lost we'll throw a celebration, but meanwhile, beware of a certain... transmogrification. I'm sure with your plan it won't really jive, but... oh well, you'll see when we arrive."

"Say something that makes sense or shut up," Vegeta said. He was really looking forward to the moment Nappa and Raditz were free and they got to the bloodshed. These oddballs obviously didn't know what was going to happen when the three of them were reunited. And Vegeta had a bad feeling there was a reason why.

In the Place of Science itself (so it said on the sign out front), Acro keycarded door after door as they travelled deeper into the institutional building.

"Do you mean to tell me you experimented on them?" Vegeta demanded. "What happened? Are they still alive?" Thinking back, no one had ever specified so. He wouldn't have bothered waiting just to collect a couple of corpses.

"Every prison has that right, it's Lord Shika's... policy!" Acro cried, striding along. "And we found some... mold... with an unknown... quality." The next door, he didn't card straight away. "We're here. (My dear.)"

"All right, you can just go to hell with that rhyme garbage. You don't hear me doing it. I don't have to pause before every word to think up more trash and it's twice as easy to take me seriously."

"Look, I'm not slow... you know. I can only respond when I hear what you say. So... that explains your... complained-of delay. I can barely understand your words with no verse... so don't call mine 'trash' when it's clear you're much worse. I'm opening this door, so step right inside. Your friends are right there, clearly not died."

"Stupid," Vegeta muttered, brushing past. "GAH! You said they were alive!" The room was empty except for two white fluffy-and-winged house pets tied to a metal table which was in turn bolted to the ground. "I'm not making an embarrassing mistake, am I? This—this is them?"

"Are you embarrassed? For you to decide. But yes, that pair is clearly not d"—Vegeta elbowed him—" _O_ _w!_ Clearly alive." Acro untied the leashes and handed them over to Vegeta.

"Really? You think I'm taking them in this state? Unless it isn't permanent..."

"Everything is permanent, but this most of all. Everything is permanent! Hear my—"

"Well, well... their power levels dropped through the basement." The two small animals pulled on their leashes to leave the room. They were dressed in cute black and white striped prisoners' outfits. "They're as good as dead to me the way they are now." Vegeta's and two pairs of animal eyes turned to Acro. "In your idiotic language... They're good as dead to me, but you most of all. Everyone on this planet has to go... but I think I'll start with you for what you did to my men."

"'All' has to be rhymed with aAAAGH!"

Ronji might be able to do something about Nappa and Raditz. It was a long shot, but he might. The question was, did Vegeta want to try and help them? They hadn't made a single piece of progress on the mission. Almost all of the locals were weaker than Nappa, at least. The highest reading on the planet was 9,000. (Zarbon was right about Vegeta's luck. Lucky that he ended up on Rock-Row instead of this insulting planet.)

Pet-Raditz and Pet-Nappa would stay tied up by Vegeta's ship while he did the mission. He'd decide what to do with them after. But less than a mile into the pale desert, a figure appeared running towards them on the horizon. Power level 250.

Instantly and desperately straining on their leashes, the two animals. "What is it? Why..." Vegeta tried, but they wouldn't look at him. They only had eyes for the figure, running close enough for Vegeta to see he wasn't from this planet.

" _No!_ Tai! Bo! What did they do to you?!" the stranger cried, pulling the animals and their leashes away from Vegeta. "Honestly, you should have never come here... I can't believe they took my money and still did this... they deserve to have their whole rhyming planet destroyed."

"Get back here!" Vegeta yelled. "That message they broadcast! 'To the final one of three'! Was that for you?" The alien just gave him a dirty look and kept walking away. Okay. There had definitely been a mix-up of some sort. So where were those Saiyans? Vegeta headed back.

"My guys came to this planet a few months ago. Huge one has no hair, short one has too much hair." Oh... but Raditz wasn't short anymore. He was eighteen, a year older than Vegeta, and about six feet tall. Vegeta was just over five feet. He probably had a few more inches left to grow, but... "They go by Nappa and Raditz." He was talking to a scruffy scientist named Stick in the reception area of the Place of Science. A few security guards ran past them to the back of the building.

"Ehhh... Nappa and Raditz? They help with the feet. You should travel to plains west of here to meet," said Stick, just as the building's alarm system started wailing in iambic pentameter, signalling the Discovery of _Acro_. _Stick_ jumped, looking startled, but Vegeta was already out the door.

Hailed as plains but really just the desert with some grass. All they had going for them was actually being westward after all. Vegeta's irritation was growing. The wind kept blowing dirt in his eyes and he was faced with having to take care of a pair of traitors who dared to leave an unmarked planet.

 _"Oaararaaah!"_ With a rumbling groan, a savage fanged beast with matted fur rose out of the long grass. Before Vegeta could attack, all three tons of it sunk to its knees before him. Gleaming eyes peered at him expectantly. When he didn't do anything it lumbered up and rammed into him. Finally Vegeta climbed onto its back.

With another _"Rarraorh!"_ it took off across the plains. It was fast, fast enough that the wind stung Vegeta's eyes. He caught himself thinking that it would make a decent means of travel if he was too lazy—or injured—to fly. He could feel the power in the hardness of the shoulder and back muscles that rolled underneath him. And he bounced about a foot in the air with each step. Cool.

More beasts emerged one after the other around him. Vegeta's own beast, a little bigger than the others, spearheaded the formation. He was the leader.

After a time of running toward a canyon up ahead, the ground finally started to slope downward. Vegeta noticed crude metal spikes on the bottom of every beast's feet that seemed to emerge only when they began to scale the sheer cliff face. The whole herd slowed as they carefully picked their way down to the bottom.

Now just when Vegeta thought they'd get back to charging ahead, they slowed to a halt at a tall fence that stretched across the pink canyon floor, up the cliff on both sides, and out of sight. The herd formed a line to pass through.

"You guys got back early today, good. Fortif, Reast, Arth, in you go." A familiar voice ushered in the three animals ahead of Vegeta. He leaned over and looked down at Raditz, barefoot and wearing cutoff overalls and a dirty sleeveless shirt.

Meeting Vegeta's eye when he looked up from his clipboard, Raditz. A smile grew on his face. "Nappa! Get out here and see what Bastion brought back!"

Oversize, shoulder-length gloves wearing and blacksmith's tools carrying, Nappa as he rushed out of a nearby hut. Nappa asked Vegeta to wait while he and Raditz took in the rest of the animals. (Nappa called them "himeds.")

Refreshments were served in the kitchen of Nappa and Raditz's one-bedroom bungalow.

"Even their nutritional information rhymes," Vegeta said, reading the label on a carton of milk. "What's wrong with this planet?"

"You're sick of it after spending a few hours here? Try three months," Raditz laughed bitterly. "At least we live far away from everyone else. But we have to travel into the city to buy supplies. The himeds don't let anyone come near their grazing plains other than us."

"Except me. Well, they could tell I was Saiyan, too." Vegeta looked out the window at the herd of himeds settling down for the night in piles of five. "Interesting... most animals scuttle in the opposite direction. But anyways, what the hell are you two doing? What happened to the mission? And your ships, your armor? It feels like you're about to tell me you've started a new life here and won't be returning to the Force."

"Armor's right here," Nappa said, kicking one of the lower cupboards. "Scouters too. We buried the pods nearby after they kept getting shit on out in the open. And as for what happened..."

"Really, we didn't have a choice," Raditz explained. "We woke up and you weren't there. Then we landed on the himeds' old caretaker/ferrier. We could tell right away that the townspeople were the type to take us more seriously since we had just fallen from the sky, so we told them we were sent as his replacement. Though we had no idea what we were doing for a long time..."

Saiyans Nappa and Raditz shared a laugh then looked happily to Vegeta. There was a pause, as if they expected him to react to their story. He flipped the table over and pinned Raditz by his neck to the wall with a forearm. "So you're traitors after all. I knew it," he hissed. "In my absence those 500s and 700s suddenly seemed like mountains. I can just picture you two lying to save your skin. Not even _trying_ to start the mission without me."

"Th—that's not it at all!" Raditz choked. "We didn't know who you wanted to fight yourself. You're the prince, right? You get to divvy up the work the way you want." Vegeta allowed Nappa to pull him off Raditz. "No one told us anything," Raditz continued. " _W_ _here were you?_ We were going to wait another few months before our next move. If you're calling us traitors for cowardice, isn't the fact that we didn't just turn around and run home proof enough against that?"

"Okay, if we've made a mistake let's clear it up," Nappa said. "Next time you don't show, we'll start without you and do what we like to the planet."

Gritting his teeth, Vegeta exhaled sharply. "That was a one time thing. All right, all right, let's forget everything and think about the mission. It won't be such a waste of time if we have himeds help us... they look like they'd be down to process a planet. How about this? Everyone gets a good night's sleep tonight and we start first thing after breakfast in the morning."

"Orders from the prince himself! Sounds good, Vegeta," said Raditz, clapping his hands together. "And just so you know, it's my week to have the bed so you'll have to see with Nappa about the couch or the floor... Oh... Oh, you're right... Of course you get the bed. _Sorry."_

White clouds sometimes thin, sometimes solid, tangled and clashed above the three Saiyans rolling across plains reddened from the rising sun. Vegeta was on Bastion again; Raditz on Fortif; and Nappa on the second-largest one, Sidio. Laid out between the three of them was all the food in Nappa and Raditz's house. Once in a while a himed lurched forward to catch a piece of raw meat thrown ahead of them by their rider, but other than that the trio's pace was leisurely.

"Had enough?" Vegeta asked, frying a piece of meat midair and catching it between his teeth. "It's time we get going."

Only Raditz nodded his agreement. Nappa was too busy stuffing his own face. "How did I stay here for _months_ without action?" Nappa said when he was done. "Right now it feels like my arms and legs are asleep. Good thing you came when you did, Vegeta. Saiyans weren't built for taking vacations."

"Are you still trying to ease the damage done by your idiotic choice?" Vegeta laughed into the wind. "Stop sweating it and focus on the mission. Ready? _HYAH!"_ He dug his heels into Bastion's flank and took off at a gallop.

Many people were still asleep when they arrived at the nearby city. "Take up your positions!" Vegeta yelled as Nappa and Raditz advanced to either side of him. On a ride-by pass Nappa took out the buildings on the right, Raditz on the left, and Vegeta right down the middle. The roads, not built to support a charging himed (especially one with shoes) got torn up.

"Into such a hellish reality, I wake as if by mistake," cried an old man, steadying himself on the railing of his porch. "Three heathens of horror on three horrible himeds. Hear me! Who are you and what have you done with my world?"

Shooting the old man through the heart on the way by, Vegeta. "Where's the rhyme? They can't piss me off this much only to not follow their own rules."

U-turn around the town hall and through the station, Nappa. "I don't care and I know you don't either, but the way they speak changes with age!"

Picking up a small child, Raditz. "I'll show you. Hey you, say something. C'mon! C'mon!" He dangled her in front of Fortif's nose like a carrot.

"Put me down! Leave this town! Let go! Oh, no!" the kid wailed, tears streaming down her red face. Fortif growled and tried to crane his head upward towards her.

"Only doing what you said," Raditz shrugged, throwing the child into the ruined street behind him.

Sweeping back and forth until the city was in ruins, the three Saiyans. "Do you hear that?" Vegeta asked. Sirens in the distance. "They're going to spread the word. Can our guys outrun hovercars?"

"Endurance? They can sprint for hours," called Nappa, pulling ahead. "But speed? Dunno. Let's find out."

Doing the mission on Shi was a perfect return to form that came at just the right time. Their work was so simple, so efficient, so ancestral. For the first time when Vegeta thought of Freeza, he actually felt millions of light years away.

They caught Acro crawling away from the wreckage of the Place of Science. "Still alive? Stubborn thing," Vegeta tsked. "Since I have you here, why didn't you lead me to Nappa and Raditz? You know what they look like." Acro was still trying to find a rhyme for "I don't judge appearances" when Vegeta put him down for good.

Of course, the Shi locals were expecting the three Saiyans by the time they made it over to the next continent. Hundreds of people ran away, screaming, in a mass panic while a few dozen stayed behind to defeat the invaders. _Perfect._

Finishing off the first day, the Saiyans dumped the contents of three grocery stores' worth of food into a massive banquet hall, pulled open the doors wide enough to let in Bastion, Fortif, and Sidio, and had a party. After hours and hours, the Saiyans finally conked out against their himed sidekicks. They had a big day coming up, and Vegeta was going to savor every moment of this rare classic mission. He'd have a word with Zarbon about the "rare" part when they returned.

In space three months later: Nappa, Raditz, and Vegeta.

 _"Gauzy planet Shi,"_ said Nappa over the ships' comm.

 _"Hard to hear those cries in verse,"_ said Raditz over the ships' comm.

"That was so much fun," Vegeta said, stretching out in a pod that he noticed was finally the right size for him.


	41. Prickly Fruits and Ambitious Vegetables

Chapter 41

Back from Shi, Vegeta was just exiting the landing pad when two walls in armor blocked his path.

"Want something? Give me a few hours." Their faces weren't at Vegeta's eye level so he spoke to the pair of battle jackets instead. "I'm half-starved and I need to stretch my legs."

"Forget about it. You're coming with us now." Vegeta looked up at Zarbon and Dodoria. He couldn't read their facial expressions, nor Zarbon's tone of voice. Dodoria threw him a couple of packages of instant protein bake.

When they didn't move to lead him down the hall, Vegeta asked if they were leaving the planet.

"In five minutes."

"But I still have to make our mission report."

Dodoria pushed past them with an annoyed grunt. "Get Nappa or Raditz to do it," Zarbon said, nodding at the two Saiyans behind Vegeta. "Now get back in your ship. We're working on Lord Freeza's time."

The planet was just a hop, skip, and a jump away from 14. Two days' travel. It was small: only four hundred thousand square miles. And the oily black soil that made up the surface was some of the richest in the galaxy. No one told Vegeta, but he could smell it the second he set foot on the ground. Vibrant plants the deepest shades of red, green, blue and purple sprung out of the ground in rows. The twenty foot tall ones were strategically planted next to the little shrimps that didn't need much sun, but that was something Vegeta couldn't tell with his nose.

"We aren't here on an extermination campaign, are we?" Vegeta's mouth watered at all the intoxicating smells. Dew drip-dripped off swirling tendrils and star-shaped leaves and the ground squished under his feet. "I didn't even know you were allowed to leave Freeza's side."

"You really don't know how busy Lord Freeza is these days!" Dodoria called over his shoulder, already gathering up handfuls of redfruits.

"Lord Freeza obviously doesn't need us as body guards and this is a short mission," Zarbon explained. "Like Dodoria said, Lord Freeza has a lot to take care of. Far too much to bother with something as beneath him as this."

Vegeta heard that silent _"Which is why you're here instead."_

Zarbon told Vegeta to wait with the ships while he and Dodoria strode off towards a blue farmhouse, paying no attention to the plants they trampled on the way. For ten minutes Vegeta gorged himself on the freshest fruit he'd ever tasted. Then Zarbon's tiny figure leaned out farmhouse door and waved him over.

Zarbon and Dodoria were joined by a short and fat alien with a swollen fuzzy lip and blood dripping from his long nose.

"This is Nōh Ba. He'll be having us on his farm for the next few weeks," said Zarbon.

"Do you have any words of welcome for us?" Dodoria asked Nōh.

"Just don't kill my wife and children."

Zarbon shook his head and smiled. "Give us a tour."

Nōh led them up and down the rows, sullenly reciting the names and descriptions of his various crops, none of which were familiar. Dodoria nudged Vegeta. (He'd wake up the next day with a palm-sized bruise on his arm.) Vegeta noticed small green figures working in the fields all around them. Short little guys with scrawny arms and legs, claws, pointy ears, and heads looking like they were made of cabbage rather than skin. On a whim, he turned on his scouter. _1,200... 1,200... 1,200..._ And their faces were all identical. There was something in that.

"Tell us about your workers," Zarbon said, nodding to them.

"Well... my family owns this planet and since there's only four of us we need extra help. We distribute to millions of locations throughout this half of the galaxy, you know."

"How much do you pay them? What kind of benefits do they get?"

"Oh, none of that. They're grown to serve."

Zarbon smiled at the intent look on Vegeta's face. "Grown...?" the young Saiyan muttered. "Are you serious..." He was catching on quickly.

"Yes, the workers' fields are a few miles west," said Nōh, sweeping an arm out in the direction of the dusky sun meeting the horizon. "They aren't any more human than our other crops."

"Growable soldiers," Vegeta said as Zarbon dismissed Nōh.

"Let's take a walk." Zarbon now spoke to the two of them. Vegeta had never been addressed alongside Dodoria before, though "Should we take a walk, Lord Vegeta?" would have sounded better.

Stepping into the workers' territory, Vegeta could see that they were stationed in almost every crop. The rays of the setting sun reflected golden light off hundreds of bald heads. Zarbon crouched down in front of one who was poking through the soil with a metal spade. He shoved it. For a second Vegeta thought it was going to try to bite Zarbon's hand but it just kept working.

"So we just gotta get the... uh... _recipe_ from that old man and take some seeds with us," Dodoria said, cracking his knuckles. Evidently talking to Nōh wasn't going to be his first move. "Is this planet still gonna be the growing base?"

"That isn't the problem," said Vegeta. "Look." Zarbon was pushing the worker over and over. It just kept picking up the spade and getting back to its dirt.

"Yeah, you're right. Zarbon! Quit messing around!" Dodoria gave an embarrassed chuckle when Zarbon ignored him, then changed tactics. "What are you trying to say, brat? You aren't allowed to question the actions of a superior officer."

"No, that's—" Vegeta cut himself off in frustration. "You really think a bunch of farmers would be any help to the Freeza Force?" Case in point, Zarbon pressed his worker's head into the earth with his foot. It went limp and patiently waited for Zarbon to move.

"They'll need training," Zarbon said. "I'll need to have another word with Nōh, but the three of us should be enough. And Vegeta... the Saiyans' common power level was around 1,200 as well, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Any traditional Saiyan techniques you can lend will be effective."

"I see," Vegeta said, crossing his arms. He refrained from saying how Raditz was the only surviving average Saiyan warrior. Raditz had the potential to be 1,200, but for now he wasn't even 900. Not enough to handle this job. Besides, it was interesting.

Zarbon told Vegeta and Dodoria to round up any workers that looked promising while he went back to Nōh's farmhouse. They all looked exactly the same so instead Vegeta and Dodoria argued over what they should be called.

"Cultivars," said Vegeta.

"Saibamen," said Dodoria

" 'Saibamen' sounds stupid and irrelevant."

"I'm your commanding officer and I say they sure as hell aren't going to be called 'Cultivars.' "

"What's your power level again?" Vegeta had to start focusing on raising his rank. _Kiwi_ was technically his commanding officer, but Vegeta always put up too much of a fight for that to matter.

Then Zarbon was back. "Zarbon—what's a better name? Saibamen or Cultivars?" Dodoria demanded.

"Hmm. Doesn't 'Saibai' mean cultivation in Zibethian? So they mean the same thing... but 'Cultivar' is more localized and accessible."

"Cultivar it is, then," Vegeta said with a smirk. He had just named an entire species. But they were more of a product than a species, weren't they? Then he'd just given a brand name.

"The sun's almost down," Zarbon mused. They all blinked as a giant crescent moon suddenly swooped into the sky, illuminating the fields like a floodlight. "That shouldn't be a problem. Nobody's tired, right? Might as well start now. We'll need twenty Cultivars each. Spread out across the planet and get to work, and send up a flare above the farmhouse if you have progress to report."

"Does that mean whoever makes the best warrior wins?" Vegeta asked.

"Yes."

With such an equal playing field, Zarbon and Dodoria's power levels didn't mean anything. This was Vegeta first chance to surpass them.

He faced his twenty Cultivars in a familiar way, but there was no point in naming them after monkeys now. Zarbon said they lasted thirty days after being planted. There was no use for any strength training to raise their power levels. After Nōh had shuffled by, muttering something to them, they had obediently lined up and stared at Vegeta.

"Nod if you can understand me," Vegeta said. Twenty green heads bobbed up and down. "Hover for thirty seconds." He floated off the ground to demonstrate. Nothing but blank stares.

"Give me a mid-air twist." Nothing.

"Fifty handstand pushups." Nothing.

"A handstand." Nothing.

"A somersault." Nothing.

"... Stand on one foot." They all lifted one foot off the ground. Vegeta sighed. Couldn't be helped if that was the baseline they were starting with.

Vegeta shot forwards and punched one with the force of a cannon, sending him breaking through five crops with a caved-in chest.

All the other ones squealed and fell over. Interesting... he'd been expecting them to stay still, but they were afraid. Not missing a beat, he moved on to the next one. And the next. Before long they were running away. The last five even threw a few weak punches. But it was too late.

Zarbon materialized in front of him. "Vegeta! What are you doing?" He'd seen the power levels going out on his scouter. "They can't learn if they're dead, can they? Take this seriously and be more careful. I'm not telling you again." Vegeta waited for more but Zarbon vanished just as quickly as he appeared. (Oh, to be that fast...) He checked his scouter just to see the last power level go out by Dodoria's reading. _Ha._ He couldn't get in trouble for doing the same things as Zarbon's partner. On top of that, Dodoria had probably killed them thoughtlessly. Vegeta, on the other hand...

"Get over here!" he yelled at the surrounding farming Cultivars that were hastily trying to look busy with work. "I know you all saw! And I know you all know what to do to avoid your comrades' fate!"

Creeping closer because they had no choice, the Cultivars shrugged their trembling, bony shoulders.

"Don't play coy." Vegeta settled into a fighting stance. "Just try to match me." Then he took off.

Zarbon came around at the end of a long night. Vegeta grabbed the one that had made the most progress and brought it to Nōh's farmhouse. There, Zarbon cut a small piece out of its thigh and scalp and disappeared inside. After some yelling and forty-five minutes, Zarbon and Nōh came out. Nōh, a little more bruised and bloody, was handing Zarbon a bottle full of dark green pods and one full of a clear liquid. Zarbon informed Vegeta that the cuttings from his Cultivar had successfully reproduced and he had twenty identical clones to continue working with once they germinated.

Ten minutes later, Vegeta was asleep against a towering blue mop of a tree just as the sky began to grow light. He woke up in the middle of the day soaked in sweat. The four suns beating down 40° heat mixing with the water oozing out of every plant made Vegeta feel like he was in a mug of boiling tea. He could barely move enough to drag himself into the shade. Half asleep and with his eyes only slits, he checked Zarbon's power level. It was 18,000, the limit his scouter was set to. He slowly raised the setting 10 points at a time. At 18,050 the scouter started heating up. At 18,075 it rattled next to his ear. Any more and it would explode again.

Vegeta passed out as his head hit the floor. He would be spending all night fighting those Cultivars... and the next night, and the next... but no matter how much they learned, 1,200 was still 1,200.

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta's second crop of Cultivars could throw a punch. His third crop _wanted_ to throw a punch. And one of the guys in his fourth crop could open his head and spit acid. Zarbon and Dodoria were making similar progress. It was as if the Cultivars had a buried evolutionary thirst for fighting that had been awakened.

"How much more do we have to teach them?" Vegeta asked Zarbon at the farmhouse one work night. Before Zarbon could answer, a snickering Cultivar jumped on Vegeta's back and exploded.

"Once I made it clear to them that every fight should be a fight to the death they started getting confused," Vegeta coughed, brushing pieces of claws, dirt, and brains off his armor. "They need their opponent and their master to be separate."

"That explosion registered as 2,000," Zarbon said approvingly. "Let's you, me, and Dodoria reconvene tomorrow night and have a little battle royale. Last team standing gets mass-produced."

Eating juicy redfruit and sweet bluefruit, Vegeta watched the chaos with Zarbon and Dodoria. He smugly noticed that Dodoria needed to constantly yell commands at his team while Zarbon's and Vegeta's were off with a simple "Get the other two groups." Vegeta's team had the most kills, but they also were self-destructing left and right. He had to run onto the field and rescue the last one before he lost all his hard work. In the end, Zarbon had two surviving, Vegeta had one, and Dodoria had zero.

"So that's decided," Dodoria grunted, eyes glowering out from under his puffy, spiked brow. "You gonna make cuttings from your guys, Zarbon?"

Zarbon flipped his braid over a shoulder. "I think I'll take Vegeta's as well. Though we'll be here a few more days... we need to teach them to self-destruct only when they're too hurt to continue fighting."

"So... it's a tie between you and me?" Vegeta asked. Zarbon just flipped his braid over the other shoulder and took the three Cultivars by the hand. "Hold on a minute." He'd beaten Dodoria and tied with Zarbon. But it wasn't enough, wasn't one-on-one enough _at all._ "I want to—"

"Vegeta, I'm taking these Cultivars to the farmhouse. I want you to think long and hard about what you're going to say when I get back. Maybe you'll decide it's best to not say anything at all." Zarbon turned and walked away, the Cultivars reaching up to bat at his braid as it swung back and forth.

"What's he talking about?" Dodoria asked, watching him go.

"None of your business, Bubblegum."

"Why, you little—" Dodoria cut himself off. He'd have to talk to Freeza when he got back. Children _shouldn't be allowed in the Force._

Vegeta crossed his arms tightly and steeled his gaze when Zarbon returned with his two bottles. "So we'll just plant these now and—"

"Zarbon. I want to fight you."

Dodoria's jaw dropped to his gut. Zarbon was not surprised, nor was he impressed. "How about I'll just tell you my power level?"

"No. Not good enough."

"Then fight Dodoria. He's in a bad mood from losing. Is _that_ good enough?"

"... Yeah, that'll do just fine." Dodoria was rumored to be as strong as Zarbon. With Zarbon always doing the talking for both of them, it was easier to forget they had the same rank.

Dodoria had no idea why the punk was _asking_ to fight him. "Stay out of this," he told Zarbon.

"Do you see me volunteering? I don't care what you do to him as long as you keep Lord Freeza's will in mind."

Vegeta couldn't pin down the energy waking up among the plants as Zarbon stepped back and he faced Dodoria. Was this a spar between a senior and junior officer? Or was it a fight to the death?

Both?

Vegeta waited for Dodoria to make the first move. Even if he was stronger, Dodoria was a clumsy oaf that Vegeta would be able to see coming from a mile—

Dodoria disappeared twenty feet away and reappeared next to Vegeta. But he saw him! He had time! He could _do_ —

 _"Don't move!"_ Vegeta had never heard Zarbon sound like that before. The arm he had been raising to defend himself froze, making it an easy target for Dodoria to grab, dislocate, and break in three places.

The pain was unbearable. Vegeta doubled over, barely aware of the noises he was making. His only thought was to get his head up, not lose track of Dodoria before—

A clawed hand stabbed into the muscle of Vegeta's lower back as he stared at the place Dodoria used to be. Now this was battle-ending pain... no, it was worse than that. Vegeta felt heat growing against his spine and he had barely collapsed onto the dirt before a deadly beam shot two feet above him.

Pressing his tail into the gaping hole in his back almost made Vegeta pass out but he couldn't lose any more blood. With two legs and one arm, he wrenched himself to his feet.

"You... you're trying... both trying... to _kill me..._ " he said harshly. "D... did Freeza put you up to this...?"

Zarbon and Dodoria ignored him and huddled together with the Cultivar seeds. Zarbon pointed at a promising patch of soil, his back to Vegeta.

"Not even gonna... _hack..._ finish the job...?! Cowards...!" Vegeta's voice cut out and he drew a long, labored breath. "You'd kill me... _If you knew how strong I'm going to get, you'd kill me... right now!"_

"We know exactly how strong you'll get," Dodoria sneered without turning around. They walked around a bush, leaving Vegeta to bleed to death without another word. At least there was a surplus of thick, skin-like leaves and sticks. With a grinding crunch, Vegeta pushed his shoulder back into its socket. He held five sheets against his wound with his tail. He made a splint for his useless arm. And he made his way back to his ship.

Vegeta lay facedown, trying to not waste a single neuron impulse of energy. But then he sensed the presences. He dragged himself up against the ship and squinted against the rays of the first of the rising suns.

"Guard these three." Zarbon didn't stay long enough to see his own words through.

Vegeta and Nōh's wife and children sat in silence. Except for when the wife tried to cut his throat with a paring knife. She held her children close, silent tears running down her face, while Vegeta broke the blade to shards with his good hand. Then he settled down again, wincing at the movement.

"W—what I don't understand... is _why..._ why in the world an army of billions needs our workers... you three spent eight days you could have been _murdering_ people here, corrupting our farmhands."

"What's the question? Once we get these guys up and running, someone like me doesn't have to bother killing the women and children with my own hands," Vegeta said, eyeing her pointedly. "And it'll be good for morale."

"I want to throw up," she spat.

"Just be grateful you're all alive. I don't know what the relations between your husband and Zarbon have been, but it looks like you've been lucky. Of course, if you're being taken back with us as insurance that Nōh keeps co-operating, you'll have to work harder to earn your luck from now on..."

"Just—just stop talking!" she cried. Her younger son started crying and her older son was getting sniffly. (He was allergic to the fuzzy vines growing nearby.) "So this is the level of stupidity you need to give yourself over to Freeza. Even being a child is no excuse."

Vegeta's eyes narrowed.

Two days later, Zarbon was a little angry when he found only the two children alive in his and Dodoria's ship. "What was it I told you to do again?"

"Tell the farmer that she's still alive on Planet 14," said Vegeta, not bleeding anymore but weak and sick to death of living on only fruits and vegetables. "Are we done here?"

Zarbon waved for Dodoria to walk faster. "On this planet, we are. I still have to set up a means of mass-production."

"What was the point of taking me here? Mild education? I can't have made that much of a difference in training the Cultivars. Did you want to see if I'd stop and let you break my arm at your command? Well, you got your... _Stop ignoring me."_ Vegeta paused. "... Tell me your power level."

"That moment's passed." Zarbon snapped his fingers at Dodoria to hurry up loading the ship. The crates of Cultivar seeds the Zibethian carried were light but fragile and unwieldy. "But I'll tell you what you need to know." Zarbon smiled, holding up two fingers. "You won't have a chance against either of us if you're under 20,000. And... since you'll never fight him yourself, I'll tell you this. Lord Freeza would beat Dodoria and I easily, fighting together, and cloned ten times."

Vegeta's heart pounded in his ears. It felt like his wound under the leaves had reopened. "What's his power level?"

Zarbon smiled and shook his head. "Get back to the base and fix your arm. And don't ask to fight myself or Dodoria again, we're _busy_."


	42. Cherry Moya

Chapter 42

Twenty days later, Vegeta and Nappa have returned from another mission specially assigned by Zarbon. Raditz was not invited.

"What happened on the way back?"

"Nothing."

"... Really? Ten whole days and _nothing_ at all?"

"I told you, I was asleep," Vegeta growled. Nappa kept looking like he was about to elbow him in the ribs. "Wait here while I get some muffins from the cafeteria."

" _Muffins?_ " Nappa leaned down and stopped Vegeta in his tracks. "Funny, because I just saw Moya going that—"

"This way." They passed by the door to Raditz's room as he was leaving for breakfast. "Follow," said Vegeta without stopping.

"The cafeteria's the other way."

"We're eating in C block today."

Raditz shrugged and joined them. Even after all the years and all the inches, Vegeta was still short and his fast pace was easy to keep up with.

"How'd the mission go?" Raditz asked casually, chewing a green tea toothdrop. Vegeta stopped walking so suddenly there was almost a collision. He opened his mouth, closed it, and took off at a faster pace.

"What a mission it was," Nappa laughed, shaking his head. "Hey, Vegeta! You gonna kill me if I tell Raditz?" No reply from the Saiyan Prince. Shorter legs or not, he was cutting into his actual speed now and the other two Saiyans struggled to keep up.

Once they had jumped over the cluster of trees between D block and C block everyone slowed down. And then...

" 'What a mission it was?' " Raditz prompted Nappa.

"I guess it started when Zarbon didn't tell us anything until we landed on the planet..."

 _ **"1940 Créme Glacier Boulevard."**_ _Zarbon's voice came in through the scouter before Nappa had the chance to leave his ship._ _**"Go straight there and find out the status of the residents."**_

 _"What useless errand do you have for us this time, Zarbon?" Vegeta's voice was audible through Nappa's scouter and outside his ship's door._

 _ **"Go."**_

 _Bigger than a cottage, smaller than a bungalow, the house stuck out amidst the shops and warehouses of the eastern district of whatever city they were in. Vegeta pointed out to Nappa the scorch marks in the wood around the doorknob. "I bet you anything that's from a ray gun. They sent scouts ahead of us. And someone's replaced the door knob since then."_

 _The two puzzled Saiyans, puzzled because they didn't know who they were supposed to be fighting, broke down the door and discovered the only occupant inside: a quiet girl wrapped up in blankets in a dark bedroom. Over the scouter, Zarbon informed them that she was the reason they were there. It didn't matter what happened to the planet; their mission was to take her back to_ _14_ _._

 _"But she's sick," said Vegeta at the bedside. Her eyes were screwed shut and her white-gold hair was plastered to her sweaty forehead._

 _As if on cue, something thumped outside the door._ _ **"One of you get that,"**_ _said Zarbon._ _ **"She was sick before.**_ **How** _ **sick is she?"**_

 _"Bedridden. I don't think she's aware of her surroundings." While Vegeta was talking Nappa returned with a copy of the MDTM. (Mammalian Diagnostics and Treatment Manual.) Page 1371.5 was bookmarked._

 _Zarbon told them that since the girl was so valuable to Freeza_

"—Why?" asked Raditz.

"How should I know?" said Nappa.

— _Since she was so valuable, they had to do all they could to get her to recover enough to be moved to_ _14_ _._

"So we spent a whole week changing the temperature in the room, elevating her _feet,_ injecting her with nutrients and drugs, whatever that stupid book Zarbon sent said to do."

"Zarbon sent it? If he already knew she was sick why didn't he just give it to you before you left 14?"

Nappa snickered, that elbowy look back on his face. "He didn't want us reading it before we left, because we wouldn't—"

"Keep up," Vegeta cut in, making a sharp turn around a corner. The power level on his scouter... _3..._ It was _that_ reading, it had to be. And it was following him.

If they wanted to stay out of sight they had no choice but to cram themselves in a pitch-black supply closet.

"You know if you can see their power level, they can see yours," Nappa whispered.

"Moya doesn't have a scouter," Vegeta whispered back.

Vegeta and Raditz couldn't see Nappa shrug in the darkness but they felt his gigantic shoulders move. "So, a whole week of _tending_ to this girl—"

"And processing the planet," interrupted Vegeta, quietly.

"Yeah, and after a whole week she wasn't getting any better, probably getting worse. So we finally read what it said under _advanced cases._

 _Vegeta was spacing out at the girl's bedside once again when Nappa threw the book at his head. He didn't say anything, just jabbed his finger at a line of text with a hand clamped over his mouth. Not encouraging. Vegeta reluctantly turned his eyes to the page._

 _ **ONCE ENOUGH TIME HAS ELAPSED WITHOUT PROPER CARE, THE ONLY TREATMENT THAT REMAINS EFFECTIVE IS A KISS FROM A HANDSOME PRINCE.**_

Raditz burst out laughing loud and long enough for every person in the building to hear. Vegeta swore and broke through the opposite wall. He was gone before Nappa and Raditz climbed after him. But they knew where he'd be, of course.

"You should leave him alone," Nappa advised Raditz by the training center doors. "Try training with him now and there's a good chance he'll break something. Again."

"Ah ha ha. Nappa, Nappa, Nappa. Appreciate you lookin' out for me," Raditz said, clapping Nappa on the back, "but which one of us has a girl again? I know what I'm doing." He threw the doors open with a "Yo, Vegeta! Seventeen years old and finally getting some tail! She wasn't ugly, was she? Does this mean we have a new princess?"

After the healing tanks fixed Raditz's broken legs and ribs and Nappa stopped muttering about how _he_ had a girl back on Planet Vegeta, the three Saiyans warmed up to start training.

"So what _happened?_ " Raditz said, stretching.

"I did it," said Vegeta, placing his scouter on a rack off to the side. He was pretty sweaty for someone who hadn't started his warm up yet. "I did it and it worked. She made a full recovery. The end."

"It was so cute, he—"

" _Nappa._ Shut up."

 _The door hanging on one hinge screeched, but the girl curled up in bed didn't move. She hadn't woken up once in the entire week, still with the blanket twisted in her arms. Heart pounding, Vegeta made his way across the room while Nappa audibly snickered by the door._

 _Vegeta gave her a quick peck on the cheek and dashed out the room. "How long until she gets up?" he said, carefully not looking back._

 _"Hate to burst your bubble, Vegeta," Nappa said, scanning the book, "but I think you really have to go for it."_

Raditz was nearly in the 1,000 points club, which Vegeta made sure to give him a hard time about doing at eighteen years old when he himself reached that milestone at five.

"Too bad you missed out on that last planet," Vegeta continued, more seriously. "Remind me next time we get another one with no resale value. 1,000's about the level where you can destroy a big city with one _chi_ blast."

"A blast that can be seen from space," Nappa added. It was bringing him back to when he surpassed 1,000 himself, ten years old.

"Let's keep going," Raditz said, lightheaded at such an acknowledgement from the other two.

It was a fine training session, fine in the way the first training sessions after a mission are, and it made a pretty good distraction. But not quite good enough.

 _She was covering her face with that damn blanket. Vegeta started to pull it down before he remembered to kick the front door shut and draw the blinds closed. Now the room was as shadowed and hidden away as it had been when they had first arrived._

 _The girl had always clutched her blanket tightly but as Vegeta began to tug it away her week-long grip loosened. That was a real piece of evidence that the book was right, which was almost as bad as if the book was wrong._

 _And then the girl's mouth was exposed and less than a foot away from Vegeta's own. He'd never really looked at anyone's lips before. Her's were light pink and softly parted in sleep. Vegeta thought, as someone who risked his life constantly, how ridiculous he was being. He leaned in and kissed her._

 _Being so close to another person with no intention of violence was a shock to the system. But was there some other intention in its place? Blood was rushing, he had to steady himself on the bed frame, he... didn't want to stop..._

 _Vegeta fought the urge to pull away because he'd just have to start over. He really didn't know what he was doing, had only seen and heard things on the fringe, but either way... it felt good. He couldn't help sinking more and more of his weight down onto the bed until he was lying half on top of her. She smelled really good..._

 _Vegeta knew it worked when she woke up. She didn't open her eyes or say anything. But she started kissing him back._

Vegeta's scouter beeped and he ran across the room for it, blushing for some reason. "Get your stuff, we're going _now._ No, no time to change, just take it with you."

"Didn't you say we were going to get breakfast two hours ago?" Raditz panted, struggling to keep up barefoot in sweatpants while he carried his armor and boots.

"Fine," Vegeta shot back. The three of them were already in the next block over. It was the control hub, but they managed to find a spare room to change in and snuck into the cafeteria.

Once Raditz had some bacon and oatcake he was back to that knowing amusement. "What happened after?"

"After what?" Vegeta muttered, wolfing down breakfast and staring down at his boots.

"After—"

"Nothing happened. She woke up. We took her back."

"Yep. You've become a caged animal because nothing happened."

Vegeta sighed. "I saved her life and in such a... a way. She got a little emotional, that's all. She can't accept that we've already played our part. So I'm not sticking around to encourage her any further."

"Uh huh." Raditz was quiet for maybe ten seconds while he picked his teeth. "She must be Moya, then."

 _"... Cherry Moya."_

 _"What?" Vegeta, opening the blinds to distract himself, was distracted from that by her eyes. He'd never seen eyes so green. They reminded him of stained glass._

 _"That's my name. Cherry Moya. Who are you?"_

 _Vegeta went to get her out of bed, almost faltered when she held out her hand as he drew near, but pulled through and did it anyway. "Are you feeling better?" he asked, pushing open the front door. After days of abuse it finally gave in and pitched forward with one last metallic scream from the hinges._

 _"I was sick?" Moya asked seriously, not looking away from him. Black hair_ and _eyes were so rare among the people of her planet, but that only made the stranger more..._

 _"Get back inside," Vegeta said, realizing just in time. Nappa approached curiously only to be waved away by Vegeta, picking up the door._

 _Warm hands crept around Vegeta's arm as he tried to pull the door back into place so nothing could be seen of the outside. "Tell me your name," she said softly, brushing her hair out of her eyes._

 _"Vegeta," said Vegeta, distracted. "Hold on." He stuck his head out the window like he was going to throw up but instead whispered "Get rid of the bodies, all of them, now," to Nappa._

 _"Did you come to save me?"_

 _"Yeah. You're being summoned_ — _uh, you have to come with me."_

 _"Where?"  
_

 _"Off the planet."_

 _"Oh, sounds good! It's been a few months." Moya yawned and pulled a duffel bag out from under the bed. "I've never left with anyone. You aren't from here, are you? What do you want with me? Do you want a puzzle?" She took a string with two cubes on either end that was entangled somehow in a twisty metal loop out of her duffel bag and offered it to Vegeta. "I haven't figured this one out yet."_

 _"Take no less than ten minutes to get ready. Don't leave the house before then. Meet me out front when it's time," Vegeta said, climbing through the window and drawing the shades behind him._

 _Vegeta was met outside with disappointment. "Did you hear a word I said? It looks exactly the same out here!" He got to work setting a pile of bodies on fire._

 _"What's the point?" Nappa grumbled, finally starting to help. "She's more likely to get sick again from whatever remains are getting burned into the air."_

 _"Psychological trauma. It's easy to inflict, much harder to fix. We have to keep her a clean slate for Freeza." Vegeta eyed Moya's door, surprised it was still obediently shut. "You bring the ships here, I'll finish cleaning up."_

 _Exactly nine and a half minutes later, Cherry Moya sat on her front step with the duffel bag in her lap. She took in the empty shopping district through heavily lidded eyes. "Where is everyone?"_

 _"Maybe out shopping," Vegeta said. Nappa shot him a look but he didn't seem to notice. Somehow, neither did Moya._

 _They were both busy contemplating the two single-rider pods._

 _"See you back at the base," Nappa said cheerfully, taking Moya's bag into his own ship and blasting off. Vegeta was too dazed to stop him whether he wanted to or not._

 _Moya held his hand as the two of them stood in silence. "Let's get going," said Vegeta at last._

 _"Vegeta,_ _ **please**_ _report to Lord Zarbon's office immediately!"_ The voice crackling over the intercom in Block M1 sounded irritated and out of breath. _"And in the future, keep to the speed limit so the messengers can actually reach you if need be."_

"Looks like we've been running from the wrong people," Raditz said, happily enjoying his breakfast while Vegeta was forced to walk off.

"Finally," Zarbon said impatiently, leaning against the back of Moya's chair. "She keeps asking about you. Won't co-operate. Just have a quick word with her." And they were suddenly alone.

"I... I don't really know where I am," Moya whispered, somehow looking twice as tired as when she was sick. "And I've been missing you." She stared at her hands. "I really haven't been trying to avoid his questions... I'm just so _confused_ and he's asking me all these random—"

"Whatever it is, just tell him," Vegeta sighed. "Cooperate and everything will be fine."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Then I'll get to go home?"

"Yeah."

"And... what about you?"

"If you think there's anything more to it, I have some bad news."

Moya pulled herself up and stepped forward with open arms and eyes. "No. No more," said Vegeta, turning away. In an instant he was gone and Zarbon was in his place.

She slumped back down in her chair and closed her eyes. Zarbon could almost see the girl's attention getting snagged on Vegeta and leaving with him. Good. She would be much more responsive with her neurosis stripped away.

Zarbon switched the connection on his scouter over to the secretarial frequency for dictation purposes, _324632._ "Starting off, how many planets have you been to?"

"... I can't remember," Moya said, faintly and honestly.

"How many puzzles do you own?"

"Five hundred and ninety-six."

"How many different planets have you gotten them from?"

"Sixty-two."

"And how many solar systems in total?"

"Fifty."

Zarbon took in a breath. "Tell me why that number is so high." At this early stage every viable planet they found was accompanied by two or three others practically next door. They had only invaded twelve separate solar systems.

"I like a bigger sample population. When I was younger I'd stay close to home. All that got me was ten variations on the Chinese finger—"

"Where do you keep your data?"

"It's in the bag. I'm not surprised you didn't find it," Moya said, rummaging. She pulled out a chain of silver rings linked around a large gold one, a glass sphere containing a metal ball trapped in an intricate maze, and a bag full of sand. Finally she held a red beach ball. With well-practiced movements, she bounced it off the ground, smashed it up into the ceiling with a fist, and punched it at the far wall. "Open, you stupid thing!" At her words it turned blue and burst on contact with the floor. Papers and notebooks and bits of blue rubber scattered everywhere. "That's one of my favorites. It took me forever to sense how to open it... great ESP practice. It doesn't reform unless you've gathered all the contents in one place. A lot of my colleagues denounce it, but I personally welcome the abstract alongside the cerebral... Now here's my co-ordinates log, and my contacts list, my population size notes... hmmm... incomplete, though."

"I'll take it from here," smiled the blue man, picking up the papers. Moya found herself fascinated looking at his braid, the most puzzling hairstyle she'd ever come across. "You just go ahead to the room next door."

"Really? That's it? Okay—Oh, just make sure you don't let me leave without this stuff. It's precious, but I have a terrible memory."

"Go next door. And don't forget to address him as Lord Freeza."

*⁂*⁂*

"Kiwi. The training center in C block. Now. And don't think you'll be getting out of this like last time. I'm not in the mood." Vegeta turned off his scouter and stalked down the hall, alone this time. In addition to being Vegeta's sole equal (in loose terms), Kiwi's obnoxious ego kept building up unless he was beaten regularly. And was Vegeta ever in the mood to do some beating.

It felt like time slowed down as Vegeta came across someone familiar. The long donkey ears and fluffy white hair, he recognized. The twee mustache and goatee, he did not.

"Yo, Vegeta, it's been a while," said Ronji. "If it isn't a bad time, I need your help."


	43. Crossed

Chapter 43

"It really has been a while, hasn't it," Vegeta said, looking around. Ronji's room was as explosively messy as ever. He was surprised to see the mint plant he barely remembered gifting under a bright light in the corner. Ronji carefully snipped a leaf off and dropped it in a glass of something that he offered to Vegeta.

"No thanks." Vegeta's eyes burned from the fumes. "What is that, another milkshake?"

"No, a cocoa and mint leaf smoothie." Ronji downed half of it in one gulp. "Like I said, I need your help. I have to go out to update the scouters in a few minutes but I'm expecting some important data. Can you just keep an eye on this monitor?" Ronji pushed out a black screen on wheels with dozens of green pulses travelling across it in pairs. _One-two. One-two._ "See the pattern? I'm expecting a small blip at 3:32 pm. Nothing big, but every reading should be affected. Tell me if it happens, and cut out the mysdynomograph reading from the same time." The mysdynomograph was a metal box printing out a long string of data on paper. "I'll buy the three of you supper if you do this."

"In that case, sure," said Vegeta. It was well known that almost every Uni he, Nappa, and Raditz spent was on food. Ronji must want his help pretty bad to offer to cover it even once.

"Super, super. And if you'll be around for a few more weeks I could really use your help again. Duly compensated, of course."

"As a matter of fact, I will be," Vegeta said, remembering what time of year it was. Funny coincidence.

*⁂*⁂*

After the anticipated blip, a very happy Ronji, and a quick word with Zarbon, Vegeta met Nappa. "Any luck?"

"If Zarbon told you IGRIS are out, that brings the number down from zero to zero."

"He didn't say I couldn't find one myself. Push it farther."

*⁂*⁂*

The next time Vegeta showed up, Ronji had boxes and boxes of palm-sized metal discs. He gave Vegeta a marked-up twenty page layout of every block on Planet 14 and detailed instructions on how to install the discs under the floor.

"Watching your machine for half an hour was one thing but this is ridiculous," Vegeta objected. "Can't you get a few 1,000 hacks to do it? You have Lord status after all."

Ronji made sure his door was locked. "I have to submit an official request to Lord Freeza every time I want to borrow help," he whispered. "I also need someone who can move faster than the security cameras can see. This is probably a good time to ask you not to tell anybody anything."

Vegeta grabbed the boxes from Ronji. "You're going behind Freeza's back?" Ronji gave a single nod. "He kills people who hide things from him. Even the smallest things."

"It isn't small. It's a big deal." Ronji looked down. He usually didn't like to talk confidently about his work before he completed it. _Usually._ "I think it just might be the biggest deal."

"I've never been so curious in my life, Ronji. Do you know... if any soldier hears a single word of what you told me, even with no specifics, you'd be dead?"

"A soldier's already heard every word, hasn't he?"

"You're too smart to let anyone find you out."

"Only with your help covering my tracks."

"Fine. But don't tell me what it is until you're sure it's going to work. The longer I know nothing, the more of a chance I have leaving this alive."

*⁂*⁂*

"Dāko Torzadd. A single mother with a litter of six from the Protienne system, two years away in the old half. Power level 8,700."

"Of course not." Vegeta waved his hand and Nappa tossed the paper to the rejects pile.

"Fietto. Eighty four and travelled to Planet Stsū over sixty years ago with only 200 Uni in his pocket and dreams of introducing agriculture back to his ancestors' native home. Power level 7,000."

"No. Try reading the power levels first, Nappa."

"... 9,200—"

"—No. And that's the last one, isn't it?" Vegeta snapped. "What a hard time I had screening all five people in the galaxy that Zarbon says I'm allowed to fight! What's his criteria again?"

Nappa leaned back in his chair, angry for Vegeta's sake. This was an important time for any Saiyan, never mind the prince. Never mind the last Saiyan to come of age, ever. "Anyone over 5,000 and alive who chose to reside permanently off of their IGRIS planet." He picked up Dāko Torzadd's form. "Or whose crimes were too heinous to continue being a member of IGRIS society."

"None over 10,000?" Vegeta checked his own power level with a little thrill of excitement. _13,894._ "I need someone right around 14,000."

Nappa was visibly impressed. "That's a pretty hard one to match, Vegeta. But I'm sure someone's out there. Freeza just doesn't have any records of people in this half yet, and the last half is all weak IGRIS. Even if we were allowed to fight them, I don't think anyone tops 10,000."

"I wonder if anyone from the—"

"There you are!" Raditz burst in on them. "What's going on?"

"Cross," Vegeta said, offhand.

The Cross Ceremony was one of the oldest and most unforgiving Saiyan traditions, started long before the advent of space travel. Every Saiyan who recently turned eighteen chooses an opponent slightly stronger than them and fights to the death. No room for humiliating defeats that lead to lives of shame. The Saiyan was either the victor, and now an adult, or dead.

Post Freeza, the Cross Ceremony lost popularity. With such a diverse range of opponents in extermination campaigns, most Saiyans had already fought several similar battles before coming of age. But a significant number of Saiyans carried it on, particularly members of the older family lines. And a new rule was added, once scouters were thrown into the mix: the opponent had to be at least one fiftieth stronger than the Saiyan.

"So you're looking for someone at least... hmm... 14,172, right?" Raditz saw their pathetically thin stack of paper and smirked. "If you're having trouble, come with me."

They were going to the top of a building Vegeta had never been to, the highest building on the planet. In the room, a live screen of the entire galaxy took up four walls, the ceiling, and the floor. Up a narrow staircase to the roof was a ten-ton telescope the size of a cargo ship. It took two soldiers, or the entire team of astronomers who manned the observatory, to change its position.

"Hey, Angel Feathers!" Raditz called to Marone, already in conversation with the head astronomer. The staff who worked there wore black robes to not distract from the map and looked like they hadn't seen sunlight in months. "What do you have for us?"

"Yesss... Lord Ronji'ss update for hissss ssscoutersss doess indeed make it possssible," the astronomer dusted, coughing faintly. "We can ssssearch the galaxy... _kah_... quite eassssily for a power level sssso... high..." Above his head a star flashed as numbers popped up beside it. "The clossssessssst one readssss fourteen thousssssand... two hundred... and sssssixty ssssix..."

"Yes! Those co-ordinates... it's only a few weeks away!" Nappa cheered, clapping Vegeta on the back. "You could get there right after your birthday!"

"I don't know..." said Vegeta. "There's barely any planets around it. And those planets don't have any life readings."

"Correct. Every sssssingle sssstar in the ssssurrounding ssssssspace isss sssstrangled with... poisssonousssss gassssssssesss..."

"How many other readings on the planet?"

"No other readingsssss... it'sssss a very ssssmall planet assss well... _kah..._ "

"Can you look at it with that telescope on the roof?"

"Yes," Marone jumped in, not able to bear hearing another _Sssssuper Ssssseer Ssssspace-o-Ssssssscope,_ "but it doesn't do requests. Everything's orbiting everything and blocking out five more things on the way. They usually point it at a random patch of sky and just record whatever they find. We could take a day to calculate when we'd have an uninterrupted view, but things are just about to get _very busy_ around here with this new scouter feature..."

"If it's money you want, go over to Ronji's place and tell him I sent you. He'll pay you for your time. Get started on those calculations." Vegeta paused, considering. "If you do go to Ronji's, make sure you knock first."

"Why not a different planet?" Raditz asked on the way back. "I saw a _14,049_ about twice as far in the other direction. Near the Conex Asterism."

"Too weak."

"14,266 might be too _strong._ "

"That's the point, Raditz." And there was something about that single power level on that single planet surrounded by nothing, staring down at him from the black. It felt like the right one. His decision was already made, he just wanted to see it before he left.

There was a commotion. A crowd of people up ahead. Somehow Vegeta knew there would be a body. And there it was... the body of a young gray bird. Vegeta's hand was at his scouter before he remembered. There was no blood, no scorch marks. But the skin was red with bruising underneath the feathers and the entire body was a misshapen, broken mess.

"Who did it?" Vegeta whispered to a nearby soldier.

"No one," the soldier whispered back. "They said he just collapsed. Like he was having a seizure." Vegeta noticed the hallway number, 399. He never spent time in this part of Planet 14, but the number looked familiar.

The next morning, news of three more deaths surfaced. The autopsies said they had been crushed to death. No fingerprints, no vendettas other than the ones everyone else had. Vegeta saw a few hospital masks being worn on the way to breakfast.

"When was the last time you slept?" Vegeta walked in without knocking to a blast from the past. Ronji had his old bloodshot eyes, his tangled hair, his droopy ears.

"I don't know," Ronji said, surrounded by satellite dishes and makeshift monitors and exposed wires running through everything. "They want me to meet with a taskforce to examine those bodies in fifteen minutes."

"Why are you working so hard if no one knows to give you a deadline?" Vegeta searched the wall until he found the secret latch to the mint room.

"I have to keep up my normal duties during the day so I only get to work for the eight hours at night when I'm supposed to be asleep."

Vegeta gave Ronji some baking chocolate drizzled with mint extract on a plate. "What about the deaths? Was that you succeeding or failing?"

Ronji licked the mint off the chocolate. "Success. A huge success. My theory is sound and I'm almost finished."

"Then go off to your meeting and tell me what's going on when you get back."

As usual, Vegeta couldn't figure out a thing from Ronji's mess of a lab. So he played with his updated scouter to pass the time. It now knew the locations within five feet of everybody on the planet. Then Ronji came back and told him everything.

Vegeta jumped about a mile in the air when someone knocked on Ronji's door. He hid in the mint room while Ronji gave Marone a pile of Uni and promised to pass along the message that the planet would be visible in three days at four in the morning. (It was a new moon now, so no problems on the transformation front.)

After she had gone, Vegeta waited for Ronji to come inside rather than leave himself. "What I'm telling you is this ray I'm developing mimics the electrical signals of the spinal cord," Ronji said, compulsively putting away the wrappers and mint extract.

"So you did kill those soldiers. You hijacked their muscles and gave them seizures until they died."

"I can't control people's movements with any sophistication. I just made them constrict around the bones tight enough to break them."

Vegeta's scouter was in Ronji's main room. Ronji wasn't wearing one. All of Ronji's mint rooms were built with thick walls. There weren't many places on 14 as private as this; it would have to be enough. "When you said this weapon was _for Freeza..._ "

"I've decided I need insurance in case he decides to kill me, or worse, cut off my supply. It's been a while since I've given him a worthy invention and he's been dropping hints."

Vegeta laughed. "So if he stops getting your mint and chocolate you'll kill him?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Freeza. You'll kill Freeza?"

"Yes."

He wasn't laughing anymore. "You know how powerful he is?"

"The stronger he is, the better the ray works. I need to run some more tests but I'm confident."

Maybe he was laughing a little. "He'd kill you just for working behind his back. For _this,_ he'll rip apart every cell in your body. And he'll take his time."

"He has no reason to suspect me of anything. Nor you for hanging around this planet, not if you're getting ready for your Cross Ceremony. I'd like to ask for your help one more time before you go."

"As long as it's after my birthday," Vegeta said.

"When is that?"

"In two days." He felt like they were pushing their luck. There was already a good chance of him having Freeza as his Cross partner.

Two days later

Nappa and Raditz were having a beer outside of the training center and for the first time Vegeta was joining them. In fact he'd already had several.

"... And to this day that was the longest fight of my life," Nappa said happily. "My partner hated me almost as much as Kiwi hates _you_ and I can still hear the applause when his head came off. Half of Planet Jikaju was watching."

"Hey, hey, why not choose Kiwi?" Raditz spluttered, sloshing beer on the tiled floor. "Imagine the two of you fighting to the death."

"He doesn't deserve it, especially being the purse dog he is nowadays," Vegeta said with a bit of a slur. "And he isn't even strong enough, is he?" It was changing all the time, but at the moment Vegeta's power level was about ten points higher. "Kiwi, get over here!" His hand was on the scouter now.

 _"To the training center? I'm not falling for that again. And what's wrong with your voice?"_

"Nooooo, I won't abandon you this time. I'm gonna be nice... I know you have a glass heart. I'm already here, look on your scouter. If I leave I'll owe you a favor. I swear."

Kiwi had never gotten a favor from Vegeta. _"... Okay, but that favor's going to hurt if I get there and you're gone."_

"Watch the scouter. I'm not going anywhere." Vegeta hung up and pushed Nappa and Raditz. "Hurry, before he gets here!"

The door to the training center was ajar. Kiwi threw it open to... an empty room. He was checking his scouter in a rage when two buckets of beer and over seven hundred pounds of Saiyan fell on his head from above. They rolled around over the mats. Vegeta was drunk and Kiwi wasn't so the Saiyan's reflexes were just around the fish's level. After a while Vegeta got out on top and Nappa and Raditz ran for safety while he beat the living daylights out of Kiwi and it felt _great._

"And you'd be dead by now if I'd chosen you as my Cross partner so _stop whining!_ " Vegeta yelled, kicking Kiwi out of the room. He turned back and saw the sticky, fizzy mess the floors were in. If Freeza was going to kill him for helping Ronji it better be before he had to clean this up.

"Um, excuse me—"

Overexcited and thinking about Freeza, Vegeta fired off the beam before he even saw who was talking. A janitor dropped dead in the entrance way. "Oh, shit," he gasped.

Lucky there were all those unexplained deaths going around. "He started shaking and it was lasting such a long time that I had to put him out of his misery," Vegeta explained to the block leader. Then he was hungry. A big, rich supper with no mush involved finished his eighteenth birthday off. He could almost hear that lonely 14,266 calling him.

Vegeta arrived at the observatory at a quarter to four. The entire planet was silent except for the occasional descending ship that would light up the sky. The only person around was the head astronomer, unresponsive and glued to the telescope.

"They're all like that," Marone said, coming up the stairs. "They live out there. Looks like it's set up in the right spot so he'll probably come back to us when he can give you a good look."

They stood in peaceful, windy silence on the roof for a few minutes. "So," Marone began, "Raditz tells me you—"

"—No. Don't say a word."

Just before four o' clock, the astronomer grunted and waved them over. The telescope had enough viewfinders for all three of them to watch.

"It's beautiful," Marone sighed.

Vegeta had to agree. It was a golden marble, draped in glassy swirls and whorls that seemed to glow even in the harsh magnifying lens. And that shade of gold, with more white than orange, looked exactly like...

Searching for something else to think about, Vegeta found curiosity. It was absurd and outlandish... but he couldn't help asking. "How big is this planet?"

"Ten thousssssand ssssquare feet."

"So about the size of C block, huh..." Vegeta mused into the lens. "Could we get any closer? Is he... can we see him?"

"Oh, yessss... absssssolutely... _kah..._ In fact, I wassss jussssst ssaying hello a minute ago." The picture zoomed in until marbled gold edged out outer space. Vegeta found himself looking into the eyes of someone centillions of miles away.

As if impossibly sensing their presence, the man had his head turned up to what was, for him, the empty night sky. But was he even a man? His bare skin was a patchwork of multicolored glass, including the exact shade of gold that coated the ground beneath his feet.

"He's a guard," Vegeta said, drawing away. He knew the second he saw. Guarding what, he wasn't sure. Maybe the planet itself. But his power level was so high, and he was so alone, because he had something he needed to protect.

Vegeta left soon after that, to take a quick nap and begin his application to leave the planet. But Ronji caught him before he could get started on the forms. He had the final task. And it was just what Vegeta had feared. A single security camera to be installed in the hallway outside Freeza's rooms before suppertime. Done when no one was watching, of course. Vegeta would have refused if he couldn't easily see Freeza's whereabouts on his scouter. It was done in ten minutes.

"So I was wondering, Ronji," Vegeta said, staring at the screen in Ronji's lab. "Are you about to kill Freeza?"

Before Ronji could say anything, Freeza appeared in the grainy capture, floating in his pod. Ronji dove towards his tangle of machinery just as Freeza reached the door.

"Don't look away from the monitor!" Ronji commanded unnecessarily.

The door slid open but Freeza didn't go in. He was very still. He got out of the pod and flexed the three toes on his right foot.

While Ronji slumped to the ground, Vegeta kept a tense watch and waited for Freeza to talk to someone on his scouter. Or kill the soldier walking by. Or look up and see the extra security camera. He did none of those things. He climbed back in his pod and continued on like nothing happened.

Vegeta joined Ronji on the floor. A few days' worth of fear lifted. Freeza had no idea something was going on. They were still under the radar. "What just happened?"

"I gave him a foot cramp," Ronji said in awe. "Just a little twinge that lasted less than three seconds." He rolled onto his stomach and grabbed the mysdynomograph data. "It... he responded exactly the same way," Ronji said, looking back and forth between papers.

"It working the same on the lightest setting means it'll work the same on the heaviest?"

Ronji nodded slowly. They both fell back again, overcome by the gravity of the situation. They. Could. Kill. Freeza. Right here, right now.

Vegeta thought about the extermination campaigns that were delivered right to his feet, one after another.

Ronji thought about all the mint and chocolate he had eaten, and all the mint and chocolate he would get to eat as long as he had ideas for new inventions. (Which he did.)

They sat up, looked at each other, and understood. "Just in case." A tight handshake sealed the unspoken emotion: there was a lot of joy in having power over Freeza, whether you used it or not.

Vegeta paused on his way out. "But let's say we do have to use it. We can't just say 'do this or else.' Freeza doesn't respond to threats."

"Oh yeah, I was never actually going to _use it_ on Freeza," Ronji said casually. "I'm going to give it to him as my next invention. It can exterminate whole planets remotely and in an instant, you know."

Time slowed down to a standstill. Vegeta slid the door shut behind them. Ronji started to sweat when he caught sight of the animalistic horror in Vegeta's wide eyes. "What... was... that?" the Saiyan breathed, his throat so tight he was almost inaudible.

"O—okay, yes, I haven't tested it on that scale yet, but all my data says—"

 _"Ronji."_ Vegeta's grin was shaky, his whole body trembling from the strain of holding back something unknown. "Do... you know... what you've done?"

"... No?" Ronji squeaked. By the time he had taken a step toward the machine, Vegeta was already there, his fist right through the most important circuits and hardware, stomping it to sparking pieces.

Ronji stared at his destroyed invention. He still had the blueprints, but building such a delicate machine from scratch again would take _weeks._ Freeza would lose his patience. Ronji didn't know what would happen to him.

"If Freeza gets his claws on such a convenient weapon, I'll have no place here," Vegeta said, a thin film of calm covering up his anger now that the physical threat of the machine was gone. "You know what this means for me."

"I do?"

"I need to fight, Ronji. If I can't fight, I can't live. You of all people understand this."

"Oh. _Oh."_

"Take out your blueprints for this machine and give them to me."

 _"You don't mean..."_ A thrill began to grow in Ronji's stomach.

"You're finally starting to get in my way. I'm not leaving this room until you're dead, no matter what it takes."

With watery eyes, Ronji slowly began to move about the room. After a few minutes, he had gathered together a pile of papers and emptied the entire contents of the mint room onto his laboratory floor.

"Here. Take it all." Ronji shoved the paper, at least a thousand sheets of it, into Vegeta's arms.

"Seems pretty thick," Vegeta remarked.

"It's not just my machine's notes. You're holding every blueprint, every experiment, every _thought_ I've had during my ten years here. No copies. Most of them haven't been built yet. There's no one else I would give them to. Do what you want with them."

Vegeta had already dropped them carelessly. "Just get to it already."

"Thank you, Vegeta..." Ronji sobbed, tears streaming down his cheeks. "You're the best friend I ever h—had..." He grabbed Vegeta's hands in both of his and kissed them. Vegeta sighed and gently pushed Ronji towards his pile of mint and chocolate.

For a long time, the only sounds were those of chewing and tearing paper. The chewing stopped long after every page of galaxy-changing information had been shredded and burnt by Vegeta.

Zarbon was sent over to Ronji's room with a question regarding the mystery deaths. He opened the door to Vegeta meditating quietly in front of Ronji, lying still in a pile of wrappers. Chocolate stained his face and hands. His abdomen was bloated grotesquely. The abysmal battle strength of three he had lived under for so long didn't show up on the scouter.

Zarbon had gone completely around the bend for the first time: he was far too shocked to kill Vegeta. He grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him through the halls all the way to Freeza's doorstep.

Freeza didn't say a word. Zarbon's spluttering was nearly incomprehensible. So Vegeta went first.

"I killed Ronji."


	44. An Old Line

Chapter 44

It never occurred to Vegeta to avoid incriminating himself, even though one could easily interpret Ronji's death as a suicide. In the Freeza Force, being caught in the same room was bad enough and attempting to put any sort of spin on the facts would just make things worse. Besides, he had done it.

Freeza nodded along while Vegeta told him everything that the two of them had been up to. (Though not exactly painting himself as a co-conspirator from the start.) He waited patiently as Vegeta described finding out Ronji's true intentions. "... could be used to process planets, but most of all, he _intended to_ _threaten you_ _personally_ if things stopped going well for him in the Force! At that point I had no choice but to—"

"Cut the act, Mr. Vegeta," Freeza said peacefully. "We all know what really mattered to you was preserving the extermination campaigns. Don't look so flustered. As a matter of fact, I agree. You're dismissed."

Two steps out the door and Vegeta stumbled. Wiped his forehead. Smiled a little. He was invincible after all.

"Sir, c—can I ask for some sort of explanation?" Zarbon spluttered.

"I meant what I said. What do you get from pressing a button to process a planet? You get one planet. But going in and taking it piece by piece by hand, nice and slowly, letting one or two escape every time? You get one planet and a plague of fear that spreads pestilence far across the stars ahead of you."

"But s _ir,_ the potential he wasted in Ronji—"

"Perhaps you didn't know that Mr. Vegeta was not the only one I dismissed just then."

Zarbon hurried out the room, not needing to be told twice. And not needing to see that look in Freeza's narrow eyes, right above his fake understanding smile, ever again.

Vegeta felt great. All that anxiety, that twisting dread that had been growing every morning, it was all gone now. Even as the news of Ronji's death took Planet 14—or rather, the Freeza Force itself—by storm, Vegeta was happy to spend his days training with Nappa and Raditz and filling out his application to leave the planet. He didn't jump every time someone entered the room. He didn't have any nightmares.

For not even knowing that Vegeta had been in contact with Ronji, Nappa and Raditz were being awfully careful around him. Saiyan instinct was something else. Vegeta left the two of them on the landing pad with question marks in their eyes. Maybe he'd tell them what happened later. But how Ronji died was about as relevant to Nappa and Raditz as why he liked mint and chocolate so much in the first place. They weren't secrets Vegeta held on to, they were random facts he had no place for.

Seventeen days later, Vegeta was in orbit above the golden planet. From Planet 14, Nappa (the only Saiyan left who was even remotely qualified) was leading him through the traditional pre-Cross oath.

 _"Prince Vegeta of the royal Vegeta family, there are two sole honors in this world: to live as a Saiyan and to die as one. You stand at the crossroads of your own life and death. It's your unique heritage to earn your existence. Do you understand?"  
_

"I understand."

" _What will you do if your enemy overpowers you?"_

"Fight until I'm dead."

" _It's time. Put up your guard."_

"See you back at 14, Nappa." Vegeta shut off the scouter. The space out the window looked too black. All the nearby stars were dull. It was as if the small planet below was trying to make up for its desolate location with that golden light that shone so brightly. Vegeta regretted his ship's crude landing system, he didn't want to damage this beautiful planet, but the planet's surface didn't give an inch when he landed. It was harder than diamond. The shockwave had to go up his spine instead, _ouch_.

Vegeta stepped outside to a red firework spreading underfoot. Within a few seconds it receded until it vanished under his ship. Confused, Vegeta took a step back toward it. _Blue._ Another step. _Green._

Looking past the spaceship, he saw his guy. The glassman had been running, bursts of color covering the gold under his feet with every step, but slowed down the closer he got. Did he sense that Vegeta wasn't there for his planet?

There was no way they spoke any of the same languages. Vegeta pushed his ship aside and faced the glassman head on. He gave a slow and deliberate bow and settled into a fighting stance. After a pause, the glassman copied him exactly.

And they were off. If there had been any life on the neighboring planets, and if it had been stargazing at that moment, it would have seen the entire gold planet light up with a brilliant spectacle of rainbow sparks and prismatic watercolors. Only a planet harder than diamond could withstand the stress of their fight.

And as he made bruising contact with the glassman, for the first time, Vegeta realized that he was the softest thing around for light years. He could tell himself that it didn't matter. He'd broken glass many times before.

Vegeta was sent skidding across the golden ground, leaving a blood-red wake, the glassman disappearing behind the small horizon as the starry sky swung dizzyingly into place overhead. He twisted to avoid crashing into his ship which he'd lost track of when the fight began, then he nearly broke his neck going over a bump on the otherwise smooth planet's surface. Vegeta scrambled to grab ahold of another passing speed bump, finally getting control over his slip over the frictionless marble. He jumped to his feet when he saw the Saiyanoid figures. Even though they were almost entirely obscured by milky gold, it was unmistakably dead aliens buried under glass that made up the bumpy, no, casket-ridden, ground. Vegeta didn't wait for the glassman to appear on the horizon again, he took off back the way he had came.

The planet was so tiny that the glassman just _appeared._ Neither of them had time to react, it was by a lucky position that Vegeta happened to get him around the middle and wrench him off his feet. Suddenly the planet was a postage stamp below them... they were suspended in dark space... Vegeta was clinging to the glassman now... they _weren't_ suspended, they were falling and the gold marble was rushing back towards them at speed... Vegeta managed to get on top so that it was the glassman's back that cracked the planet's surface on impact. The resulting starburst of fiery orange was so intense it left spots in Vegeta's eyes. The glassman pinned Vegeta's wrists against his shoulders and slammed him backwards, again cracking the glass.

Vegeta struggled to his feet, ears ringing. He looked around. The glassman was nowhere to be seen and he was back with the glazed-over bodies. There was a few seconds for him to catch his breath. He still couldn't hear a thing, could barely keep his balance, it felt like the entire planet was shaking under him. _Get it together._

He had almost recovered when the glassman came at him out of nowhere with a fist. Vegeta went to sidestep, found his boots covered in gold glass almost past the ankle, and took the glassman's punch to the side of his head while he tried to free himself. A fine gold dust had coated him from head to toe and his ear felt wet. While Vegeta brought a hand up and confirmed it was blood, the glassman attacked him again. He was knocked back to the ground, his feet still stuck. His blood on the glass was fluorescent, backlit by the golden light. The glassman towered over him yet Vegeta had to smile with his mouth wide open. This was just the end of round one, and _he wasn't going to die here._

Two smooth hands and two rough hands grabbed Vegeta's arms and yanked him back, so sharply that the glass shattered and both his boots stayed on his feet.

Vegeta had been so distracted that he hadn't heard them land, hadn't smelled them until just now. Zarbon and Dodoria. With the two of them holding him off the ground, he couldn't get away. He kicked and spat while the glassman looked on in his version of confusion, and then the third presence made himself known.

Freeza.

"What are you _doing?!_ " Vegeta screamed at them. Freeza, walking on his own two feet for once, slowly came up behind the unsuspecting glassman. And he slowly, slowly, slowly held up a delicate finger. "No! _No!_ GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!"

With no more pomp and circumstance than his usual executions, Freeza pointed off a thin beam of light. And the glassman went down no differently than any 1,200 soldier. Hairpin cracks formed in his skin as he fell and he shattered into millions of rainbow shards on impact. The gold planet's surface did not light up underneath him.

Vegeta's desperate struggles to escape melted into one long cry. The hands finally released him and he fell heavily to his hands and knees. There was something in his throat. He couldn't breathe.

Vegeta coughed blood and raised his trembling head to look up at Freeza with oily eyes. " _Wh... wh... why?_ "

"How could any leader stand by while one of my best men is being attacked?" Freeza said impassively. "I'm concerned... you almost don't sound grateful that I personally saved your life."

" _I did this by the book. He was mine,_ " Vegeta said, gravel voice scraping against pavement throat.

Freeza cocked his head just a degree to the side. "Isn't it frustrating when someone you have plans for gets killed?"

Vegeta's sides heaved with something that scared him. Something he was trying with all he had to keep down. He dragged himself to his feet and straightened up to face Freeza. Five minutes passed punctuated only by Vegeta's harsh breathing.

"I'd like you to get back on your knees and apologize to me."

" _No,_ " Vegeta snarled. He couldn't imagine anything more humiliating.

"Mr. Vegeta. Bow."

Vegeta didn't look away and he didn't move. His face was ugly twisted in rage.

" _Do it._ "

Zarbon and Dodoria stared in disbelief at the Saiyan who still faced their master head-on. This was beyond stubborn... beyond stupid. He was asking Lord Freeza to kill him.

Freeza sighed and lifted that same finger. Vegeta took in a sharp breath and his heart kicked up... but he didn't move. Freeza lazily pointed at Vegeta's chest. An impossible weight pressed on his shoulders.

He held out for ten whole seconds. Then he was forced down to all fours in front of Freeza, head bent in defeat.

"I'm... sorry..." Vegeta said, voice dripping with hatred. The weight didn't lift.

"Mr. Zarbon, Mr. Dodoria, and myself will be relocating to our newest acquisition, _Planet Freeza_ _27_ _._ You will find your spaceship has been locked to follow ours. You have been promoted to Lord status. Once we've settled in and you have begun your training, you will be permitted to send for Mr. Nappa and Mr. Raditz. From now on, they are under your official jurisdiction."

Vegeta could hear Freeza walking away but he still couldn't lift his head. And suddenly he could. He jumped up, all the power he had rushing back at once.

 _ **"I**_ — _ **"**_ Freeza turned around but Vegeta had already cut himself off. _I should have made Ronji do it._ One more word of that sentence and he'd be dead. It was a miracle ten times over that he was alive as it was.

He screamed _I hate you! I hate you!._ He bit. He scratched. He maimed. He turned the danger from silent threats into full-contact for the first time, finally making up for a lifetime of paralyzed hell.

No, he didn't, he trembled like the last leaf on the branch in the winds of winter.

*⁂*⁂*

In the middle of a monsoon, Café le Cliffe on Planet Lei was only accessible by day. The heavy rains always doubled down at night and anyone trying to take a gondola all the way up would plummet to their death before making it halfway. So the handful of baristas and overnight guests were surprised when a figure in a floor-length hooded cloak came through the door at twenty-three minutes to midnight.

Its small white boots were made of cloth and barely made a sound as they padded across the shadowy wooden floor. Everyone in the café watched it order a mint tea at the counter and then take a seat at a table in the corner. Before his tea had cooled enough to drink, no one was paying attention to Lord Vegeta anymore.

He had been thinking a lot in these past eight months, so obsessed and so angry he couldn't recognize himself in the mirror anymore. The question that haunted him day after day: should he have kept Ronji alive?

It took far too long to face the facts. The only way that Ronji would have killed Freeza for Vegeta would be if he would take up the mint and chocolate burden himself. He'd seen Ronji's hunger first hand. He couldn't do it.

Vegeta closed his eyes, burned his tongue on a sip of tea, and tried to forget who he was for the first time.

Rain drummed on the windows outside. The milk fridge kicked up with a hum. Chairs scraped the floor and voices whispered to each other. Plans to go shopping the next day. Stories from work. Quiet vows of love. Even with all the travelling he'd done, all the vastly different places he'd been, this was a side of life that he was completely detached from.

Vegeta's head snapped up and he quickly adjusted his hood. He could have sworn someone in the room said his name.

"—Thought they all died in that rebellion. They said most of the inhabited planets in the other half were involved."

"No, Freeza brought the hundred or so ones he had left with him."

"I heard they honored him as a war hero, doing what he did at only twelve years old. They made statues of him and named a planet after him."

"No, that's an urban legend. Planet Bejīta just coincidentally sounds similar."

"Still pretty scary to think someone like him wasn't left behind in the war. I guess Freeza's pretty anxious to hold on to the Saiyans he has left."

"I bet he's out there killing people _right now._ I'm glad Rei's on the outskirts of the galaxy. We'd be sitting ducks if anyone knew who we were."

His reputation preceded him. The galaxy was vast and full of many, many warriors who were stronger than the glassman. In time, Vegeta would fight them all.

He couldn't stand it anymore. "Nappa."

 _"Yeah?"  
_

"Can anyone listen in through your scouter?"

 _"Hold on... Now they can't."_

"What do you think of Freeza? Do you like him?"

There was a long pause. Vegeta could almost hear the gears turning in Nappa's head, probably caught off-guard by a rare moment of introspection. _"Sorry, Vegeta, I know what he did to you but he's a good guy. He gives us all the fights we want. Coming from my old position, serving Freeza_ — _"_ Vegeta's grip tightened on his mug "— _is heaven. That asteroid hitting Planet Vegeta was the best thing that could have happened."_

"Are your true loyalties with him or with me?"

This time, the silence on Nappa's end was deafening.

Vegeta continued. "I know you're sick of being tied to my family. Obligation means little to us Saiyans on a good day. Looking at actions, Freeza gave you entire worlds and I only let you live. But when it comes down to it, which of us would go farther to help you? And most of all, what kind of life are we Saiyans supposed to lead? We both know not one of fucking servitude." Vegeta fought to keep his voice down. The smooth jazz wafting through the room could only cover up so much.

 _"... You know I'm loyal to you. If I wasn't, you would have killed me back then. What are you trying to get at, Vegeta?"_

"If I told you I was going to attack Freeza, would you rat me out?"

 _"Attack_ — _you're_ — _there's no way_ — _"_

Vegeta laughed softly. "Don't worry. You think I'm that stupid? I was just testing you." And with that he hung up.

It was true, he'd have to be beyond stupid. But Freeza wasn't a fellow warrior, he was just an obstacle. Unlike Vegeta, his power wasn't earned. _Which could only mean that it was temporary._

*⁂*⁂*

On the mothership parked in orbit above Planet Freeza 27, Zarbon and Freeza had a moment alone while the crew prepared for travel.

"Lord Freeza, may I humbly inquire as to why you left Vegeta _alive,_ much less made him a Lord?"

"... I seem to recall you asking me a similar question after I accepted him back from his four year absence. I'll explain under the condition that you stop questioning me on this. Mr. Vegeta has uncanny instincts, more so than any other Saiyan I've met. He left, not only because he sensed his weak position in the Force, but also because he knew he wouldn't be missed. I never considered executing him over that. If he had waited much longer, certainly. But he came back after what was a glorified hiatus and he had turned himself from a child into a very useful asset."

"But Ronji? It's been a rule from the start that soldiers of Vegeta's rank don't have the authority to do what he did, whether he had a good reason or not."

"That rule is in place to ensure cocky young upstarts don't act outside of my will. Like you, I believe that Mr. Vegeta made a very rash, very selfish decision. But I also believe that he would not have done so if he thought me to disapprove." Freeza chuckled. "It seems we know each other well."

"But _sir,_ " Zarbon said in exasperation, "the example you're setting for the other soldiers..."

"He has committed three acts of insurgence against me during his time here, all years apart. I don't give chances to everyone who serves under me, and Mr. Vegeta has used all of his up. Not one more incident. I think he knows that as well."

"All right, maybe I can understand why you didn't punish him. But why _reward_ him? Why make him a Lord?"

Freeza smiled. "Oh dear, have you forgotten the meaning of your own title, Mr. Zarbon? Mr. Vegeta will be working directly under me from now on. It may look like a promotion in your eyes, and perhaps in his as well, but he will soon come to reality. Now please go up to the deck and summon Mr. Dodoria for a meeting here in ten minutes."

*⁂*⁂*

Alone now, Freeza stared out the glass wall at his newly-born planet. By now half the sentient galaxy belonged to him. But he had inherited most of that half from his father, now retired, who had inherited it from his grandfather, dead. Even with supreme power they were sickeningly mortal. He would have to leave the total conquering of this galaxy to his children's children. And forget about the rest of the universe. Just making the trip between galaxies would take lifetimes.

If only there was a way to stay young. He would take this galaxy with ease. Then he'd move onto the next one. And the next. And the next.

Yes... if Freeza could have one wish, that's what it would be.

*⁂*⁂*

As the hours went by and—lucky for them—nobody came near to bother him, Vegeta sunk lower and lower in his chair. A tired peace was finding him at last and he was dozing in the warm café with the rain outside on the planet full of people who did not yet know to fear him. He finally knew why he was alive.

At some point he was going to kill Freeza. Imagine ruling the universe in Freeza's stead. No... that was so far off right now that he couldn't see it. Imagine living life as a free man. Able to fight whoever he wanted. That was the only way he'd find a true rival.

THE END


End file.
